"A household residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally skip the term "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have since been received since the unidentified family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", would the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who express these concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
