"Parents based in north London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled tutor to guide their smallest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally overlook the phrase "beginning" as simple figurative language.
But, it might be the crucial element of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to find a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained notice in the news, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then set in".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The family understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the result they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
