"A family based in north London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily miss the phrase "first-steps" as simple a turn of phrase.
However, it might be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a infant.
Numerous of submissions have already been received since the unidentified family posted their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted notice throughout the press, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding first doubt, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they appreciated the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the elder child had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the development at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to impart.
Adam said the tutor must be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool 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 accomplishment and open doors.
"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.
Yet, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Certainly", answered the CEO. "They know this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who have those reservations.
An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer personal educators, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."
He wrote that he had moved from Asia to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He continued to study at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, a person who can possibly impart the qualities of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and impractical," he wrote.
"Based on my background, having a distinctly UK tutor from babyhood will not automatically produce the goal they want.
"I never had such a figure, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"I believe the situation that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
