"A household based in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified instructor to support their smallest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the most important aspect of this unusual job advert, as it aims to find a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have already been submitted since the anonymous family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest across the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he found the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.
Adam explained the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "They know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express those doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and embodying both cultures. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that one individual can function as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will does not instantly create the result they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something Adam believes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
