"Parents residing in north London seeks an extraordinary and qualified tutor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might readily miss the wording "first-steps" as just an expression.
But, it might be the most significant aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a infant.
Many of applications have already been sent in since the unidentified family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has received interest across the news, with numerous asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, stated that in spite of initial skepticism, he found the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they understood the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told Adam they did not want history to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the education at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated the expert.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
The consultant explained the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family informed him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "British gentleman" will result in accomplishment and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "English culture", would the child absorb so-called cultural bias from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?
"Absolutely", answered the CEO. "They realize this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert wrote that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, an individual who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.
"In my experience, employing a typically UK tutor from babyhood will not automatically achieve the goal they want.
"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience numerous of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the international society holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
