"Parents residing in north London seeks an exceptional and experienced tutor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily overlook the wording "first-steps" as just an expression.
Yet, it might be the crucial aspect of this unique job advert, as it attempts to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have already been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted interest throughout the news, with several wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding early skepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they hoped to prevent history to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the start here is somewhat osmotic," said the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to instil.
The consultant said the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the international family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", replied the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who have those concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can act as a representation of UK identity, someone who can somehow transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a typically British tutor from early childhood will does not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
