"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and experienced educator to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily skip the wording "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted interest across the media, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unconventional character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed him they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to 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 simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", said Adam. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have those concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised understanding and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can in some way impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a typically UK tutor from early childhood will does not automatically achieve the goal they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to experience several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam believes can be educated – and sold.
"I think the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
