"A household located in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and qualified tutor to guide their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily overlook the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it could be the crucial part of this unique employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have already been received since the anonymous family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention in the news, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding first skepticism, he considered the concept "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional nature of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to instil.
He said the tutor must be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Yes", said Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who have similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can somehow impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not instantly create the goal they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating