"A household located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced tutor to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily skip the term "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most significant element of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the unnamed family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted interest throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that in spite of initial scepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unconventional character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who express these reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can somehow impart the qualities of a British gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a typically English tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the international society views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
