"A household residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the wording "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the media, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that in spite of first doubt, he found the concept "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed him they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to impart.
He noted the tutor had to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who share these reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can somehow impart the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will does not instantly achieve the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
