"A household residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant part of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have since been received since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice across the press, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that despite early scepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, 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 point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they did not want this pattern to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he adds.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The family understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who express these concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been educated experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can somehow impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from babyhood will will not instantly create the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity should not 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 hopes can be taught – and sold.
"I think the situation that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
