"Parents based in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
However, it could be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the unnamed family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the media, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite first skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their infant.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to instil.
Adam noted the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered he. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share similar reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been educated understanding and living two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transfer the attributes of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
