"A household residing in North London is looking for an remarkable and qualified tutor to support their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily miss the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it might be the most significant part of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been sent in since the anonymous family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the advert has received notice throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, explained that despite first skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the atypical character of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified 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 conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid history to recur with their new baby.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the start here is kind of osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they want to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor must be an individual who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
However, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have those doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying both cultures. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can function as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a typically British tutor from infancy will will not automatically produce the goal they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, self-identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
