"Parents residing in north London seeks an extraordinary and qualified educator to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the term "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the crucial aspect of this unique position posting, as it aims to find a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have since been received since the unidentified family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted attention across the media, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to instil.
Adam explained the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in success and provide access.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
However, despite all this guidance in "English culture", would the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The family know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who have those reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the UK at the age of seven, and had been raised experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can function as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the attributes of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the goal they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, English culture is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
