"A household located in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their smallest child on his early path to becoming an British gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily miss the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a mentor for a infant.
Many of submissions have now been received since the anonymous family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has gained attention in the media, with numerous questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he found the idea "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural leaning"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their younger child.
The intention: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the beginning here is rather osmotic," explained Adam.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.
He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who went to "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family informed the expert the selected educator should preferably also have knowledge of or interest in riding, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", might the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by in any case?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who express those doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
Peter wrote that he had emigrated from China to the UK at the age of seven, and had been raised knowing and living both cultures. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a representation of English culture, someone who can in some way transfer the attributes of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a typically UK tutor from babyhood will not instantly produce the goal they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and yet I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity can not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and commercialized.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
