"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced tutor to assist their smallest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally overlook the phrase "beginning" as just an expression.
However, it might be the most significant element of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have now been received since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained notice throughout the press, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding early scepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He explained the tutor must be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the age of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can somehow transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the international society views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
