"A household based in North London seeks an remarkable and experienced educator to support their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally skip the term "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the most significant part of this unique position posting, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been sent in since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has attracted notice throughout the media, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unusual character of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the expert.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
But, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", answered the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who express similar reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from China to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can somehow impart the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a typically British tutor from babyhood will will not instantly produce the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
