"A family located in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and experienced educator to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the term "first-steps" as just an expression.
But, it could be the crucial element of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted attention across the press, with many asking why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding first scepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual aspect of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they wish to instil.
Adam said the tutor must be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", said Adam. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
Several in the tutoring industry who express these reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been raised knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that one individual can act as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will does not automatically produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
