"A family residing in north London wants to find an remarkable and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."
When reading this post, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.
But, it could be the most important aspect of this unique job advert, as it seeks to find a mentor for a one-year-old.
Numerous of responses have since been received since the unidentified family published their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained notice across the news, with several asking why?
Forward-Thinking Method
The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".
When he met the family, he mentioned they understood the unusual nature of their request, and how immature their son is.
But, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already taken hold".
What precisely does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?
It's "everything", Adam answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".
He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural ways. The family told the consultant they wished to avoid history to happen again with their infant.
The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the education at the start here is somewhat osmotic," said the expert.
It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they want to instil.
He explained the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he added.
Cost Not Relevant
The family informed Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of passions.
Furthermore though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".
In the family's minds, helping their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will bring about achievement and create opportunities.
"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he adds.
However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "UK identity", could the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with regardless?
"Yes", replied he. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he explained.
Impractical
A number of in the education sector who share those doubts.
An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies private tutors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."
He noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up understanding and living two backgrounds. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.
"The idea that one individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate to a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he commented.
"Based on my background, engaging a distinctly UK tutor from infancy will will not automatically produce the result they desire.
"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the situations they desire for their son."
He stated: "The truth is, self-identity should not be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Certainly, UK identity is something Adam hopes can be taught – and sold.
"I believe the fact that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
