"A household based in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and experienced educator to support their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it may be the crucial element of this unique employment listing, as it seeks to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have now been received since the unnamed family advertised their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the advert has received interest across the media, with numerous questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then taken hold".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family explained to him they wished to avoid this pattern to recur with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a English tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the learning at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they want to impart.
The consultant said the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types 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 don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "They understand this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share these concerns.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had moved from China to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that a single person can function as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can somehow impart the characteristics of a British gentleman to a infant child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, having a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the situations they desire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
