"A household based in North London is looking for an exceptional and qualified tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might naturally overlook the wording "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most important aspect of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family posted their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received interest throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that despite initial doubt, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed him they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with RP, to shape the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is somewhat osmotic," explained Adam.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to impart.
He said the tutor must be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should preferably also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who express similar concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, someone who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily produce the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and sold.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
