"A family based in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and qualified instructor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as mere an expression.
Yet, it may be the most important element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of responses have since been submitted since the anonymous family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the press, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical nature 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 postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a typically English tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
