"A family residing in North London is looking for an remarkable and experienced tutor to guide their smallest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it may be the crucial part of this unique position posting, as it seeks to find a tutor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have since been sent in since the unidentified family advertised their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
During the past few weeks, the post has received attention in the press, with numerous wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that in spite of first skepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he said they understood the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
However, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then become established".
What precisely does the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told Adam they did not want the same situation to recur with their new baby.
The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the education at the start here is rather osmotic," stated the CEO.
It's through this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to impart.
The consultant noted the tutor must be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he added.
Money No Object
The family explained to the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.
But, despite all this instruction in "Britishness", could the child adopt so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?
"Yes", replied Adam. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he explained.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the tutoring industry who have those reservations.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the development of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert noted that he had moved from China to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been brought up experiencing and living both cultures. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that an individual can function as a representation of Britishness, a person who can somehow impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.
"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will does not instantly create the result they want.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the experiences they hope for their son."
He added: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the outside; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Certainly, English culture is something Adam believes can be educated – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the world views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
