"A household residing in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to guide their smallest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the term "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most significant part of this unique job advert, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been received since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention across the media, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that in spite of early skepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", would the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", answered he. "They know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who express those reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He noted that he had moved from China to the UK at the age of seven, and had been raised understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a representation of UK identity, someone who can in some way transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a typically English tutor from babyhood will will not instantly achieve the goal they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
