"A household located in north London seeks an remarkable and skilled educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to turning into an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this advertisement, you might naturally miss the term "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
But, it might be the most significant part of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to hire a teacher for a 12-month-old.
Hundreds of applications have since been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the advert has received attention across the media, with several asking why?
Innovative Idea
The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their quest, said that despite early scepticism, he considered the concept "visionary", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he said they understood the atypical aspect of their demand, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".
What exactly does the family mean by "cultural leaning"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "The manner you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the older sibling had adopted "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the start here is kind of acquired indirectly," said the CEO.
It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will acquire the British traits they wish to instil.
He explained the tutor must be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they aren't even aware they're doing, effortlessly," he said.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.
But, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", could the child pick up alleged cultural influence from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Certainly", said Adam. "They know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as early as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the private teaching field who share these concerns.
Another CEO, CEO and founder of an educational organization, who provides private tutors, stated that "the development of embracing two identities, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from Asia to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been educated experiencing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can act as a living vessel of English culture, an individual who can possibly impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate upon a one-year-old child, appears idealistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, employing a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not necessarily create the result they desire.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Of course, English culture is something the expert thinks can be educated – and commercialized.
"I believe the reality that the world regards us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
