"Parents based in North London seeks an extraordinary and skilled educator to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally overlook the wording "beginning" as simple figurative language.
However, it could be the most important aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained interest in the press, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of initial scepticism, he considered the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already become established".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they did not want history to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the start here is rather osmotic," said the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, in spite of all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The family know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who share those reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and living both cultures. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically British tutor from infancy will will not necessarily achieve the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the situation that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
