"A family based in the northern part of London seeks an extraordinary and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his initial journey to becoming an English gentleman."
When reading this listing, you might readily skip the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most significant element of this distinctive position posting, as it aims to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have now been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their request for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest in the media, with numerous wondering why?
Progressive Approach
The CEO, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding first skepticism, he viewed the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.
However, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already set in".
What precisely did the family refer to by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to him they wished to avoid history to recur with their younger child.
The plan: To engage a UK tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they wish to cultivate.
Adam said the tutor needed to be an individual who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.
Money No Object
The family explained to him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in equestrian activities, winter sports, the arts and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
More than that though, he stated the family desired the tutor to register the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, helping their son grow into a "English gentleman" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.
However, notwithstanding all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the international family he lives with anyway?
"Absolutely", replied he. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share those reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of a tutoring service, who provides private tutors, wrote that "the journey of embracing two identities, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to study at Cambridge University.
"The idea that a single person can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can in some way impart the qualities of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he wrote.
"In my experience, employing a distinctly English tutor from infancy will not instantly produce the goal they hope for.
"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to experience several of the situations they hope for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Buying Britishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be taught – and marketed.
"In my view the fact that the international society regards us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
