"A household residing in north London seeks an remarkable and qualified tutor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally overlook the wording "first-steps" as just an expression.
However, it may be the crucial aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the anonymous family published their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained interest in the news, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their search, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam replied. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told Adam they wished to avoid history to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to influence the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they aim to instil.
The consultant said the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in equestrian activities, skiing, the arts and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
But, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", said the CEO. "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 quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who have these doubts.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides individual instructors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
He noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can act as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can in some way transplant the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will will not necessarily create the goal they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
