"Parents based in the northern part of London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled educator to support their most junior child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily overlook the term "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most significant aspect of this unique job advert, as it aims to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention across the press, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that despite initial doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unusual nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they did not want this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," said the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they want to instil.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol 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 perspective, guiding their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", could the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living dual heritages. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a typically British tutor from infancy will does not instantly produce the goal they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
