"A household based in North London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily skip the term "beginning" as mere figurative language.
But, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has received attention in the news, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, said that despite initial scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they did not want history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
But, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", might the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "They realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who have those reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been raised experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
