"A family residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and qualified instructor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
Yet, it could be the crucial element of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has received notice across the press, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that despite early doubt, he found the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told him they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to instil.
He explained the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who have these concerns.
Another CEO, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter noted that he had moved from China to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been educated knowing and living two backgrounds. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a representation of English culture, a person who can in some way transplant the attributes of a English gentleman to a infant child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the global community views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
