"Parents residing in north London seeks an extraordinary and qualified tutor to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might naturally overlook the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the crucial element of this unusual employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been received since the unnamed family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted interest in the media, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they recognized the unusual aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they did not want the same situation to recur with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor must be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", would the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", answered he. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who have similar doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can act as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can somehow transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically create the result they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity can not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
