"A family residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and qualified educator to support their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might naturally miss the phrase "first-steps" as just figurative language.
But, it might be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have already been submitted since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention throughout the news, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had by then taken hold".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will acquire the UK customs they want to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor had to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The family know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
A number of in the tutoring industry who express similar doubts.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can function as a living vessel of Britishness, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a English gentleman upon a infant child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.
"In my experience, employing a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will does not necessarily produce the result they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, UK identity is something Adam believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I think the situation that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
