"A household located in the northern part of London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might readily miss the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it could be the crucial aspect of this unusual position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a infant.
Many of responses have since been submitted since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained interest throughout the media, with many wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that in spite of early doubt, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they did not want this pattern to recur with their younger child.
The strategy: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to impart.
Adam said the tutor had to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed him the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about success and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "The parents understand this may not work, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who share those concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised knowing and embodying two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transfer the qualities of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will does not automatically create the outcome they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I think the fact that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
