"A family residing in north London wants to find an exceptional and skilled tutor to assist their most junior child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it could be the crucial aspect of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of responses have now been received since the anonymous family published their request for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted attention throughout the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, stated that despite first scepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the atypical aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," said the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
However, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child pick up so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", said he. "The family understand this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share these concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert explained that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the time of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can act as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, seems to me naive and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the global community holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
