"A family residing in North London seeks an remarkable and qualified tutor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "first-steps" as mere an expression.
But, it may be the crucial element of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has gained interest throughout the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of first doubt, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the unusual aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified 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 stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They know this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the education sector who express those reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been educated knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can function as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly British tutor from infancy will does not necessarily create the result they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
