"A household located in North London is looking for an remarkable and skilled tutor to guide their smallest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might naturally skip the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.
But, it might be the crucial part of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of applications have since been submitted since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has received attention throughout the media, with several questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding first doubt, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their demand, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their elder sibling was five, and by that stage "cultural influence had already set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", Adam responded. "How you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had absorbed "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who must speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from day one.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is somewhat absorbed naturally," said the CEO.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to impart.
The consultant explained the tutor must be someone who studied at "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family plan to send their son to".
"The educator simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of interests.
More than that though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.
"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he comments.
However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", could the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with in any case?
"Absolutely", replied the CEO. "They realize this may not work, but they've merely embraced the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
A number of in the education sector who express similar concerns.
Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer private tutors, commented that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or actually, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not manufactured."
The expert noted that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been educated understanding and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that a single person can serve as a representation of English culture, someone who can in some way impart the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially British tutor from early childhood will does not automatically achieve the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a figure, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live many of the situations they hope for their son."
He added: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and sold.
"I think the situation that the international society views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating