"A family residing in North London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily miss the term "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the most significant part of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the unidentified family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has received attention in the press, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, said that despite early doubt, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they recognized the unusual character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor had to be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", replied he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who share those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had relocated from China to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been educated knowing and practicing both cultures. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not instantly produce the outcome they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, self-identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
