"Parents residing in North London wants to find an remarkable and qualified tutor to support their most junior child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most significant aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the listing has gained notice throughout the news, with numerous wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding first doubt, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical aspect of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
However, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then become established".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", he answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told him they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," said Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they wish to instil.
Adam said the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in success and open doors.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", might the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the international family he lives with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter noted that he had moved from China to the UK at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that a single person can act as a representation of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live many of the experiences they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something the CEO hopes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the world regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
