"A household based in north London seeks an extraordinary and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily overlook the wording "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the most significant element of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have already been received since the unnamed family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has attracted interest in the media, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that in spite of first skepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unusual aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the start here is rather osmotic," said the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they want to cultivate.
Adam noted the tutor had to be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", said he. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who express these doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, appears naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will not instantly produce the result they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
