"A family based in North London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most important aspect of this unique job advert, as it attempts to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been sent in since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that despite initial skepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express similar concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the process of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can somehow impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will will not instantly produce the result they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to live several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something Adam believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
