"Parents based in north London is looking for an remarkable and experienced educator to support their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the phrase "beginning" as simple an expression.
Yet, it could be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been submitted since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted interest across the news, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family explained to him they did not want this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
He said the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who share similar reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had relocated from China to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will will not instantly achieve the outcome they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
