"Parents located in north London is looking for an extraordinary and experienced instructor to guide their smallest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally overlook the phrase "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have already been sent in since the anonymous family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the post has gained attention throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unusual aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed him they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they want to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family hoped 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 around three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and provide access.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the international family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express these reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the age of seven, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can serve as a representation of English culture, a person who can somehow transplant the attributes of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from infancy will does not automatically create the result they want.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
