"Parents located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might easily miss the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it may be the most significant part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have since been received since the anonymous family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received interest across the media, with many wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, explained that in spite of first scepticism, he found the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "comprehensive", he answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He stated the older sibling had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told him they did not want history to recur with their infant.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," said Adam.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they wish to cultivate.
The consultant said the tutor must be an individual who attended "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to Adam the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Additionally though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
Yet, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", could the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Yes", answered the CEO. "The family know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who express those concerns.
Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and living two backgrounds. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that an individual can serve as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can possibly transplant the qualities of a English gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"From my perspective, having a typically British tutor from early childhood will not necessarily achieve the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience several of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He added: "The fact is, personal identity should not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, English culture is something Adam hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the reality that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
