"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and skilled instructor to guide their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might easily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it might be the most significant aspect of this distinctive job advert, as it aims to find a tutor for a infant.
Numerous of applications have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received notice across the press, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they understood the unusual aspect of their request, and how early in age their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
But what does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family told him they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their infant.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor had to be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range 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 minds, helping their son become a "English gentleman" will result in success and open doors.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", could the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", said Adam. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who have similar reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He wrote that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing both cultures. He continued to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a representation of UK identity, a person who can possibly impart the characteristics of a British gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not necessarily create the goal they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the fact that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
