"A family residing in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and qualified instructor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily miss the term "beginning" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the most significant part of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted notice in the press, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that in spite of first doubt, he found the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they want to instil.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", replied he. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted 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 stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a representation of English culture, someone who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will does not automatically achieve the goal they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to live numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
