"Parents located in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and experienced tutor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the phrase "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the crucial element of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to find a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unnamed family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the press, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that despite first doubt, he considered the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unconventional aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told him they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to impart.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert explained that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can function as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the qualities of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will does not automatically create the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
