"Parents located in North London seeks an extraordinary and experienced educator to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the most important aspect of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to hire a tutor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of applications have already been received since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received notice across the press, with many asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding first scepticism, he viewed the plan "far sighted", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical character of their request, and how immature their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", Adam replied. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He explained the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural habits. The family informed him they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.
Natural Absorption
"Much of the learning at the outset here is somewhat acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to cultivate.
He noted the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.
"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a class statement," he adds.
But, despite all this guidance in "English culture", could the child absorb alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?
"Certainly", answered Adam. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he said.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the tutoring industry who share similar concerns.
Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."
The expert explained that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the period of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying dual heritages. He continued to learn at a prestigious UK institution.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a representation of UK identity, a person who can possibly impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, appears naive and unfeasible," he stated.
"Based on my background, employing a distinctly English tutor from early childhood will does not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The fact is, cultural identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, English culture is something the CEO believes can be instructed – and commercialized.
"In my view the reality that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
