"A household residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to support their most junior child on his first steps to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally skip the wording "first-steps" as just an expression.
Yet, it may be the most significant aspect of this unusual position posting, as it attempts to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Numerous of submissions have already been received since the anonymous family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained attention across the media, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their quest, stated that in spite of first scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual nature of their request, and how young their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire 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 does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To engage a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the learning at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
Furthermore though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
However, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child pick up so-called cultural leaning from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", said Adam. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who express similar doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He explained that he had relocated from China to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been educated knowing and embodying both cultures. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that one individual can function as a representation of Britishness, an individual who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially UK tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily achieve the result they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the situations they hope for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
