"A household residing in North London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been submitted since the unnamed family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has received notice throughout the news, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they recognized the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What precisely did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they did not want history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," explained Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to cultivate.
He explained the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who have those concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the age of seven, and had been raised understanding and embodying dual heritages. He continued to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a typically UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
