"Parents residing in the northern part of London wants to find an remarkable and skilled instructor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most important part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have since been sent in since the unidentified family posted their call for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".
In recent few weeks, the post has received attention throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite first skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the atypical nature of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "How you eat, how you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will acquire the British traits they wish to cultivate.
He said the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family explained to the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of interests.
Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of courses 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 view, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he comments.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", would the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The parents know this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
Several in the private teaching field who express those reservations.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
Peter noted that he had relocated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up understanding and living both cultures. He went on to be educated at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that an individual can function as a living vessel of English culture, someone who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not automatically produce the outcome they want.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to live several of the experiences they hope for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be educated – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the global community regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
