"A family residing in North London seeks an exceptional and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the phrase "beginning" as mere an expression.
Yet, it may be the crucial element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Many of submissions have since been sent in since the anonymous family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted attention across the news, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of initial scepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the atypical nature of their request, 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 waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want history to happen again with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is somewhat osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to impart.
Adam explained the tutor must be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who have these concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the expert thinks can be educated – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
