"A family residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and qualified instructor to assist their smallest child on his early path to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily overlook the term "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
But, it may be the most significant part of this unusual job advert, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has received interest throughout the media, with many wondering why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, explained that in spite of early scepticism, he found the idea "visionary", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
What exactly did the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is rather absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they wish to instil.
He noted the tutor must be an individual who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Cost Not Relevant
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.
However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", answered he. "They know this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
Several in the education sector who express those doubts.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had relocated from Asia to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been raised experiencing and living two backgrounds. He continued to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can act as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can somehow impart the attributes of a British gentleman onto a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, employing a typically UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly create the outcome they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to experience many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the CEO believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
