"Parents located in north London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily miss the term "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most important element of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest throughout the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that in spite of initial scepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual aspect of their demand, 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 held off until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they want to cultivate.
He said the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, 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 undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", replied he. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the time of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living dual heritages. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can act as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transfer the attributes of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a typically British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the result they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the fact that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
