"A household located in north London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to assist their smallest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might readily miss the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the most significant part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted notice in the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that despite early scepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already set in".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family told him they did not want history to recur with their infant.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "They realize this may not work, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who have similar doubts.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been raised knowing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that one individual can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily create the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something Adam believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the reality that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
