"Parents residing in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might naturally overlook the term "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
Yet, it could be the crucial part of this unique job advert, as it seeks to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted interest throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, explained that despite early doubt, he viewed the plan "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
What precisely did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.
Adam explained the tutor had to be somebody who went to "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child adopt what is termed cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "The family realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as soon as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the tutoring industry who share these doubts.
Peter Cui, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter wrote that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up knowing and living two backgrounds. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can somehow transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, appears idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, having a typically UK tutor from infancy will does not automatically produce the goal they hope for.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
