"A family based in the northern part of London seeks an exceptional and qualified tutor to guide their most junior child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this post, you might readily skip the term "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.
However, it could be the most significant element of this unique employment listing, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the unidentified family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".
Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained attention throughout the news, with several wondering why?
Progressive Approach
A tutoring expert, CEO and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that despite initial skepticism, he viewed the concept "visionary", and "advanced".
When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the unusual character of their request, and how early in age their son is.
Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural bias had by then set in".
What exactly did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", he replied. "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 adopted their cultural habits. The family informed him they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To bring in a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from the very start.
Osmotic Learning
"Much of the development at the start here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.
It's via this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will acquire the UK customs they want to impart.
Adam said the tutor must be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The educator just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he said.
Money No Object
The family told the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in horse riding, skiing, the arts and music so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.
Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son become a "UK sophisticate" will bring about success and open doors.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he notes.
But, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", would the child absorb alleged cultural influence from the globally influenced family he lives with anyway?
"Yes", answered he. "They realize this could fail, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he stated.
Idealistic and Unrealistic
There are some in the private teaching field who share those concerns.
An education leader, chief executive of an educational organization, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."
Peter noted that he had moved from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and practicing dual heritages. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The concept that an individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.
"From my perspective, engaging a quintessentially UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically create the result they hope for.
"I did not have such a tutor, and yet I have been privileged enough to experience several of the situations they aspire for their son."
He continued: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO believes can be taught – and commercialized.
"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
