"A family residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "beginning" as mere figurative language.
However, it could be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the media, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that despite early skepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to impart.
Adam noted the tutor had to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", might the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
He wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not instantly produce the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
