"A family based in north London seeks an exceptional and skilled instructor to assist their most junior child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily overlook the phrase "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, 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 responses have already been received since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received notice across the media, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their demand, 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 held off until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Yes", replied Adam. "They realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and living dual heritages. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can function as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can possibly transplant the qualities of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a typically English tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily produce the outcome they desire.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
