"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily miss the wording "beginning" as just an expression.
However, it could be the most significant element of this unusual position posting, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been received since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted attention in the media, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that in spite of early scepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified 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 point "cultural bias had by then set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the start here is rather osmotic," said Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they wish to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
Several in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can somehow transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be educated – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
