"Parents residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the wording "beginning" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the crucial part of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted notice in the news, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, said that in spite of early scepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the unconventional nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed him they did not want this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to impart.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family told him the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", answered Adam. "The family realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who express these concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated understanding and living dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
