"Parents residing in north London seeks an exceptional and skilled tutor to guide their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "beginning" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the most important part of this unusual job advert, as it aims to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been received since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice throughout the press, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he said they understood the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "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 ways. The family explained to the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to instil.
He said the tutor must be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said he. "The family understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the education sector who express similar reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the process of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the qualities of a English gentleman onto a infant child, appears naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a typically UK tutor from babyhood will not automatically achieve the result they want.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
