"A family located in north London seeks an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily miss the phrase "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have already been submitted since the unidentified family published their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted notice in the media, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that despite initial scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument 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 open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", would the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who express these doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been raised experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can function as a representation of Britishness, a person who can in some way impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly British tutor from infancy will will not necessarily create the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be imposed 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 educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
