"A family residing in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the phrase "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
But, it might be the most significant aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been received since the unidentified family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the news, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding early doubt, he found the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed him they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their infant.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the development at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to impart.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – 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 carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, in spite of all this tutelage in "UK identity", would the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered he. "They realize this may not work, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who have these doubts.
Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the period of seven, and had been brought up knowing and living dual heritages. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically create the result they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
