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"A household residing in North London seeks an extraordinary and qualified instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."

When reading this listing, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as just figurative language.

But, it might be the most important element of this distinctive position posting, as it seeks to find a teacher for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of responses have already been submitted since the unnamed family published their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".

During the past few weeks, the post has received interest across the news, with several wondering why?

Innovative Idea

A tutoring expert, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding initial skepticism, he considered the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".

When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the atypical nature of their request, and how young their son is.

Nevertheless, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already become established".

But what did the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?

It's "all-encompassing", Adam responded. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".

He explained the older sibling had picked up "extremely delicate, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family told Adam they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their younger child.

The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to shape the baby from day one.

Osmotic Learning

"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.

It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the UK customs they want to cultivate.

He noted the tutor needed to be somebody who studied at "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The tutor must be the suitable individual, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he said.

Cost Not Relevant

The family told him the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and musical activities so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.

More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and learning an tool by the time they are approximately three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will result in success and provide access.

"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.

Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "Britishness", might the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he resides with anyway?

"Absolutely", replied he. "They realize this could fail, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and let's go as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not a concern," he stated.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

There are some in the tutoring industry who share similar doubts.

An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."

Peter explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the Britain at the time of 7 years old, and had been educated knowing and living both cultures. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.

"The notion that a single person can serve as a representation of English culture, a person who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a English gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he wrote.

"In my experience, having a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the result they want.

"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."

He stated: "The reality is, self-identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."

Acquiring Englishness

Certainly, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be educated – and sold.

"I believe the situation that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating