"A family located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the crucial aspect of this unique job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of applications have now been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained notice in the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding early skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical character of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told him they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," explained the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
He said the tutor had to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The family understand this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and living both cultures. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not automatically create the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
