"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
However, it may be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of applications have already been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received attention throughout the press, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding early doubt, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already taken hold".
But what did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a English tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the education at the beginning here is rather acquired indirectly," said Adam.
It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the British traits they want to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a range of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and create opportunities.
"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child absorb so-called cultural leaning from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", replied he. "They understand this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have similar concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert wrote that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can act as a representation of Britishness, a person who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will does not automatically create the goal they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
