"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the phrase "beginning" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of responses have since been submitted since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received notice in the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, said that in spite of early skepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then become established".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told him they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they aim to instil.
He said the tutor had to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who have those reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living dual heritages. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a typically UK tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily create the goal they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the situations they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
