"Parents located in north London wants to find an exceptional and experienced educator to assist their most junior child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily miss the term "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have now been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has gained notice in the news, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, said that despite initial doubt, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," stated Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they want to instil.
He explained the tutor must be an individual 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 doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or interest in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
Yet, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The family realize this may not work, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who have similar reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can in some way impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a typically British tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the result they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, English culture is something Adam thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
