"Parents located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified tutor to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily overlook the wording "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the crucial aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have since been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received notice throughout the media, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that despite early doubt, he found the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The family know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who share these concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He wrote that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow transplant the qualities of a English gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
