"A family based in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and skilled instructor to support their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the phrase "beginning" as mere figurative language.
But, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been sent in since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that despite initial doubt, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", said Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who have similar concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He noted that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can somehow impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a infant child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
