"A household residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their most junior child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the most important part of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have now been received since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained attention throughout the media, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that despite early scepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional character of their demand, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural bias had by then become established".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor had to be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have similar concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of English culture, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from babyhood will does not automatically create the outcome they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, English culture is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
