"A family located in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant element of this unique position posting, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention throughout the media, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that despite initial doubt, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unconventional character of their demand, 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 postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already become established".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to him they did not want this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they wish to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the international family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", answered he. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who have those concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the time of seven, and had been raised experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can possibly transfer the qualities of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something the expert believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
