"A household based in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and experienced tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily overlook the wording "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it might be the most important element of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention in the media, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, said that notwithstanding early scepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they want to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or passion in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he notes.
However, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had moved from the Far East to the Britain at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, appears optimistic and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will does not instantly achieve the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
