"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to assist their most junior child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."
Looking at this post, you might easily skip the term "first-steps" as just an expression.
However, it could be the most important aspect of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a one-year-old.
Hundreds of submissions have since been sent in since the unidentified family posted their request for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".
Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention in the media, with several asking why?
Progressive Approach
Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that despite first scepticism, he viewed the idea "visionary", and "progressive".
When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the unusual nature of their requirement, and how young their son is.
But, they clarified that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had by then set in".
But what did the family mean by "cultural bias"?
It's "comprehensive", the expert replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".
He stated the older sibling had picked up "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they hoped to prevent this pattern to happen again with their younger child.
The strategy: To hire a UK tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.
Subtle Influence
"A great deal of the development at the outset here is somewhat absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.
It's by means of this osmosis that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they aim to cultivate.
The consultant noted the tutor had to be an individual who attended "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".
"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, simply by nature," he said.
Cost Not Relevant
The family told him the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to influence the child in a wide range of passions.
More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".
In the family's perspective, assisting their son develop into a "English gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.
"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he adds.
However, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", could the child absorb so-called cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?
"Absolutely", replied he. "They know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.
Overly Optimistic
There are some in the education sector who share these reservations.
Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the development of adopting dual cultures, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."
He wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been educated knowing and living dual heritages. He continued to learn at Cambridge University.
"The idea that one individual can function as a representation of UK identity, someone who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and impractical," he stated.
"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will will not necessarily achieve the result they want.
"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been privileged enough to live numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."
He added: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be forced from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must be internally driven."
Purchasing UK Culture
Of course, UK identity is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and marketed.
"In my view the reality that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating
