"A household located in north London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily skip the wording "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the most important element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Many of responses have now been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received interest in the media, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that in spite of initial doubt, he found the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unconventional aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had by then become established".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained Adam.
It's through this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
He said the tutor must be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", answered the CEO. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the education sector who share similar reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the period of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that one individual can act as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will not instantly produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to experience many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be imposed from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something Adam believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
