"A household based in north London seeks an exceptional and qualified instructor to support their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
But, it might be the most significant part of this distinctive employment listing, as it seeks to find a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unnamed 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 interest across the media, with several wondering why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that despite first skepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that age "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they want to instil.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", could the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the international family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", answered Adam. "They realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can act as a embodiment of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the qualities of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, having a typically British tutor from infancy will will not instantly achieve the outcome they desire.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, personal identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, English culture is something the expert hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
