"A household based in North London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily skip the phrase "beginning" as just an expression.
However, it may be the crucial element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the press, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", replied he. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who express similar reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can in some way impart the characteristics of a English gentleman to a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
