"A household based in North London seeks an exceptional and skilled instructor to guide their youngest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
However, it may be the most significant part of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to hire a teacher for a infant.
Many of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained notice throughout the news, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding early doubt, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their infant.
The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they wish to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor must be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in riding, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he comments.
Yet, despite all this instruction in "English culture", might the child pick up what is termed cultural influence from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The family know this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the private teaching field who share those reservations.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The notion that an individual can act as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can somehow impart the attributes of a English gentleman to a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will not instantly create the result they want.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the situation that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
