"A household located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily miss the term "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the crucial element of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have now been received since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest throughout the press, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding initial doubt, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to instil.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the private teaching field who express those doubts.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
He noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been educated knowing and practicing dual heritages. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can function as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can in some way impart the attributes of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically create the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating