"A family residing in north London is looking for an remarkable and experienced instructor to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the wording "first-steps" as just an expression.
Yet, it might be the most important part of this unusual position posting, as it aims to find a mentor for a infant.
Numerous of responses have already been submitted since the anonymous family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has received notice throughout the media, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then become established".
What exactly does the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told Adam they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," explained the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they want to cultivate.
Adam noted the tutor must be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family told him the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.
Yet, despite all this guidance in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", replied he. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share similar doubts.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that an individual can function as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can in some way transfer the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly British tutor from infancy will does not necessarily produce the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert believes can be taught – and marketed.
"I think the reality that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
