"A family located in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and qualified tutor to guide their most junior child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it may be the crucial element of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained attention throughout the news, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, said that despite first scepticism, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told him they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.
Adam said the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in horse riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will result in achievement and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share similar reservations.
An education leader, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."
Peter explained that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can possibly impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly British tutor from infancy will not necessarily achieve the result they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam believes can be educated – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
