"Parents residing in north London is looking for an extraordinary and experienced tutor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the wording "beginning" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant element of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have since been sent in since the unnamed family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has received notice in the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of early doubt, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already set in".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam responded. "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 Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who express these reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He noted that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been educated knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly British tutor from infancy will not necessarily produce the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
