"A household residing in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and skilled instructor to support their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily skip the term "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the most important part of this unique position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received notice in the media, with several questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding early doubt, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they understood the unconventional character of their demand, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they wished to avoid history to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they want to instil.
He noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", said he. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who express these reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been raised understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that a single person can act as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transplant the qualities of a English gentleman to a infant child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically produce the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to live several of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
