"A household residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily skip the term "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the crucial element of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained attention throughout the media, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite early doubt, he considered the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the atypical aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is rather absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the international family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have similar doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and living both cultures. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the attributes of a British gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the result they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
