"A family based in the northern part of London is looking for an remarkable and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it could be the crucial part of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to find a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained notice across the media, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that in spite of early doubt, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to recur with their infant.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the education at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the UK customs they wish to instil.
He noted the tutor had to be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family informed Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
But, despite all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child pick up alleged cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who have similar doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who provides personal educators, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the UK at the period of seven, and had been raised experiencing and living dual heritages. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a living vessel of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a British gentleman upon a infant child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a typically British tutor from early childhood will will not automatically create the outcome they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience many of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"In my view the reality that the world views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
