"A household residing in north London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily miss the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most important element of this unique employment listing, as it attempts to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have already been sent in since the unidentified family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted attention throughout the media, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor must be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
But, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child absorb so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and embodying dual heritages. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
