"A household residing in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."
Looking at this listing, you might naturally miss the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
Yet, it might be the most important aspect of this distinctive position posting, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Many of applications have now been received since the anonymous family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted interest in the media, with many questioning why?
Forward-Thinking Method
A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is assisting the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding first scepticism, he considered the plan "visionary", and "innovative".
When he met the family, he said they appreciated the atypical nature of their request, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".
But what did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", he answered. "The way you eat, the way you speak".
He explained the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family told Adam they did not want the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who must speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Natural Absorption
"A great deal of the learning at the start here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the expert.
It's through this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will acquire the British traits they want to instil.
The consultant noted the tutor needed to be someone who attended "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.
Money No Object
The family told Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.
Additionally though, he explained the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he comments.
But, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he is raised by anyway?
"Absolutely", said the CEO. "The parents realize this could fail, but they've just taken the perspective of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share these reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
He noted that he had emigrated from China to the United Kingdom at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised knowing and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.
"The concept that an individual can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a British gentleman to a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and impractical," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a typically UK tutor from early childhood will does not necessarily achieve the outcome they hope for.
"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the opportunities they desire for their son."
He continued: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be imposed from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must come from within."
Buying Britishness
Naturally, Britishness is something Adam believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I think the situation that the international society regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
