"Parents residing in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled instructor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily miss the phrase "first-steps" as simple figurative language.
Yet, it might be the crucial aspect of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have already been submitted since the unnamed family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
In recent few weeks, the advert has gained notice in the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that despite initial skepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he noted they understood the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already set in".
But what does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The plan: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"A lot of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," stated Adam.
It's via this subtle influence that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to instil.
The consultant explained the tutor must be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in equestrian activities, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of passions.
More than that though, he said the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "British gentleman" will result in achievement and open doors.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the international family he resides with anyway?
"Yes", said the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he stated.
Impractical
There are some in the private teaching field who share those concerns.
Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The concept that an individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can somehow impart the qualities of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, appears naive and unfeasible," he wrote.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, Britishness is something the CEO thinks can be taught – and sold.
"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
