"A family residing in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to support their most junior child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."
Upon seeing this listing, you might easily skip the term "first-steps" as just figurative language.
But, it might be the most important element of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to find a teacher for a infant.
Hundreds of responses have now been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".
During the past few weeks, the advert has received attention across the media, with several wondering why?
Innovative Idea
Adam Caller, CEO and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their search, said that despite early skepticism, he found the concept "far sighted", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he noted they recognized the unusual nature of their demand, and how young their son is.
However, they clarified that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural bias had already set in".
But what does the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "everything", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, how you speak".
He said the elder child had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told him they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their new baby.
The intention: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby right from the beginning.
Subtle Influence
"Much of the learning at the beginning here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated Adam.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they aim to instil.
He said the tutor had to be somebody who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".
"The instructor just has to be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Expense Not a Factor
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, skiing, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.
Furthermore though, he explained the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".
In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and provide access.
"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, despite all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he lives with regardless?
"Absolutely", answered he. "The parents realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he said.
Impractical
There are some in the tutoring industry who share those doubts.
Another CEO, head and founder of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."
Peter explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the period of seven, and had been raised experiencing and embodying both cultures. He went on to be educated at Cambridge University.
"The notion that one individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, a person who can in some way impart the qualities of a English gentleman to a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.
"From my perspective, employing a quintessentially English tutor from early childhood will will not instantly produce the result they desire.
"I never had such a figure, and yet I have been fortunate enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."
He stated: "The reality is, self-identity should not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."
Acquiring Englishness
Naturally, UK identity is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the situation that the international society holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
