"Parents located in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might readily overlook the term "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most significant element of this unique position posting, as it aims to find a tutor for a infant.
Many of submissions have already been sent in since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted notice across the news, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of early skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unusual aspect of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed him they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," said Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they wish to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Certainly", replied he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who share these reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from the Far East to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been educated understanding and living two backgrounds. He went on to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can act as a representation of English culture, a person who can somehow transfer the attributes of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will does not necessarily produce the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I believe the situation that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
