"A household based in north London wants to find an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the crucial element of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to recruit a mentor for a infant.
Numerous of applications have since been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest across the press, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he viewed the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he said they recognized the unusual character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the elder child had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they did not want this pattern to happen again with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they want to impart.
He explained the tutor had to 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 instructor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "English culture", might the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the private teaching field who express those reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He explained that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can somehow impart the characteristics of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will will not necessarily create the result they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the global community regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
