"A household residing in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and experienced educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most significant aspect of this unique job advert, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been submitted since the unnamed family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained notice throughout the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that despite initial scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had by then set in".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to impart.
He said the tutor must be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", might the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the international family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", answered he. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who have these concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a representation of Britishness, someone who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will does not automatically achieve the goal they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "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
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert believes can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the international society regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
