"A household residing in north London wants to find an extraordinary and experienced instructor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as mere figurative language.
However, it might be the most important element of this distinctive job advert, as it seeks to find a tutor for a 12-month-old.
Many of submissions have now been sent in since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the press, with numerous asking why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he mentioned they appreciated the unconventional character of their requirement, and how immature their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already become established".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "all-encompassing", Adam answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family told Adam they wished to avoid the same situation to happen again with their infant.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"A lot of the development at the start here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will adopt the UK customs they want to impart.
He noted the tutor needed to be someone who studied at "prestigious academies – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The tutor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.
Expense Not a Factor
The family informed him the chosen tutor should ideally also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, creative fields and music so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.
More than that though, he said the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son develop into a "British gentleman" will lead to achievement and provide access.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
But, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child pick up alleged cultural leaning from the international family he lives with regardless?
"Certainly", said Adam. "The family know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
Several in the education sector who have those reservations.
Peter Cui, head and founder of an educational organization, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and embodying both cultures. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The notion that a single person can serve as a representation of Britishness, a person who can possibly transplant the attributes of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"In my experience, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will does not instantly produce the outcome they desire.
"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been privileged enough to enjoy many of the experiences they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, cultural identity can not be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something the CEO thinks can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the reality that the global community holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating