"A family based in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been sent in since the unnamed family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the media, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that notwithstanding first scepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the development at the start here is kind of osmotic," said Adam.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to impart.
He noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Yes", said he. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who express these concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can act as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and impractical," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will not automatically create the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the international society regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
