"A family located in north London wants to find an remarkable and qualified instructor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the crucial aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest across the press, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he found the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional character of their request, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already become established".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is rather absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they aim to instil.
He said the tutor had to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a diverse set of interests.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", replied he. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who share those doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been raised understanding and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can act as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly English tutor from infancy will not automatically create the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, personal identity can not be dictated from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
