"A household located in North London seeks an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily overlook the term "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most significant part of this unique job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of responses have already been sent in since the anonymous family published their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained attention in the news, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding first scepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they want to impart.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds 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, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been raised understanding and living dual heritages. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the qualities of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, engaging a typically British tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
