"A family residing in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the wording "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been sent in since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention in the news, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, said that notwithstanding early doubt, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to impart.
He noted the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "They realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share these reservations.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can somehow impart the qualities of a British gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not automatically produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, English culture is something Adam believes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
