"A family based in north London wants to find an remarkable and experienced tutor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the term "first-steps" as mere an expression.
Yet, it may be the most significant part of this unique job advert, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have since been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has attracted interest across the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that despite early scepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they did not want this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.
The consultant said the tutor must be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The family understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share those concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
He explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and living two backgrounds. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can somehow transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will does not automatically achieve the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
