"A household located in north London seeks an exceptional and skilled educator to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this advertisement, you might readily overlook the wording "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
However, it might be the most significant element of this unique position posting, as it aims to hire a tutor for a infant.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
During the past few weeks, the listing has attracted attention throughout the news, with many questioning why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their search, stated that in spite of initial scepticism, he found the plan "far sighted", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unusual character of their request, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam replied. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He said the firstborn had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family explained to the consultant they did not want the same situation to happen again with their new baby.
The intention: To hire a English tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from the very start.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to impart.
Adam noted the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the successful candidate should preferably also have familiarity of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and open doors.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the international family he resides with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied Adam. "The parents know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'let's give it a go and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he explained.
Impractical
There are some in the education sector who share similar reservations.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He noted that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the time of seven, and had been raised understanding and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.
"The notion that a single person can act as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can somehow impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me naive and impractical," he commented.
"In my experience, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from early childhood will not necessarily create the result they hope for.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The fact is, personal identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Naturally, English culture is something Adam believes can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
