"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and experienced tutor to guide their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally skip the wording "beginning" as simple figurative language.
But, it might be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have already been received since the unidentified family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the news, with several wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite first skepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical character of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the start here is rather osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to impart.
The consultant said the tutor had to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who have these concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can act as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will not automatically create the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
