"A family located in North London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to guide their smallest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the most important part of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted notice in the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of early doubt, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the unusual character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had by then set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they aim to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who have similar doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He noted that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the period of seven, and had been brought up understanding and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can somehow impart the qualities of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the result they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
