"Parents located in North London seeks an extraordinary and experienced educator to support their smallest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might readily skip the phrase "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
But, it may be the most significant aspect of this unique employment listing, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained interest throughout the press, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that despite first skepticism, he considered the idea "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unusual nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What precisely does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to recur with their infant.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's through this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the British traits they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor had to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to Adam the chosen tutor should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and open doors.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child absorb alleged cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", replied Adam. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have these concerns.
An education leader, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
He noted that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the age of seven, and had been educated knowing and living two backgrounds. He progressed to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that one individual can act as a representation of English culture, an individual who can somehow transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, having a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the goal they desire.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the fact that the global community regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
