"A household residing in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily overlook the term "beginning" as just an expression.
Yet, it might be the most important element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the media, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, stated that despite initial skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unusual aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor had to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar doubts.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert noted that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and living dual heritages. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
