"A household based in North London is looking for an extraordinary and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily miss the term "beginning" as just an expression.
Yet, it could be the most significant aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained attention in the news, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to impart.
Adam explained the tutor had to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding 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 bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who have these reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and embodying both cultures. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will not instantly create the goal they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
