"A household located in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the term "first-steps" as just an expression.
Yet, it might be the most significant part of this unusual position posting, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of responses have now been submitted since the unnamed family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention in the media, with several wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that despite initial scepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he spoke with the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to recur with their infant.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is rather osmotic," said Adam.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to impart.
He said the tutor had to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in success and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "English culture", could the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with in any case?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The family understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who have these doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised knowing and living dual heritages. 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, someone who can in some way impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate onto a one-year-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly English tutor from infancy will not necessarily create the goal they want.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam believes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the fact that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
