"A family based in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to support their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily skip the wording "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant aspect of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of responses have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted notice throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, said that despite initial scepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the start here is rather osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", answered Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who express similar concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not instantly achieve the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
