"Parents based in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the crucial element of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Many of submissions have since been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted notice across the media, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early scepticism, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to impart.
Adam explained the tutor needed to be somebody who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he adds.
However, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", would the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who share similar reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
He explained that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the age of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can function as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a typically UK tutor from infancy will not instantly create the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience several of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
