"A family located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced tutor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily skip the term "beginning" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the crucial element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have since been sent in since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest in the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that in spite of early doubt, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unusual character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "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 carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", said he. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the private teaching field who express these reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the age of seven, and had been educated knowing and living both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, having a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily achieve the outcome they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the expert hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
