"A household located in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and experienced tutor to support their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily miss the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.
But, it may be the crucial aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have already been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
In recent few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the news, with many asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, said that despite early scepticism, he found the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the atypical character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in riding, winter sports, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child pick up what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents know this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who have similar doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides personal educators, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying dual heritages. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can act as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can in some way transplant the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, seems to me naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will not automatically produce the goal they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the expert thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
