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"A family located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to assist their youngest child on his early path to becoming an English gentleman."

When reading this post, you might readily skip the phrase "first-steps" as just a turn of phrase.

However, it could be the crucial part of this unique position posting, as it aims to recruit a tutor for a infant.

Numerous of applications have since been submitted since the anonymous family advertised their search for the £180k-a-year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".

Over the last few weeks, the listing has attracted attention in the press, with several questioning why?

Forward-Thinking Method

Adam Caller, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is supporting the family in their quest, stated that notwithstanding early scepticism, he considered the idea "visionary", and "progressive".

When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.

But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had by then become established".

What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?

It's "everything", he responded. "How you eat, how you speak".

He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.

The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who needs to speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.

Subtle Influence

"A lot of the education at the beginning here is rather absorbed naturally," explained the CEO.

It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the British traits they want to impart.

He said the tutor must be somebody who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The educator must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.

Money No Object

The family informed him the selected educator should preferably also have understanding of or interest in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of passions.

Furthermore though, he said the family hoped the tutor to register the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".

In the family's perspective, helping their son become a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and create opportunities.

"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a social class indicator," he adds.

However, in spite of all this guidance in "English culture", would the child absorb what is termed cultural influence from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?

"Certainly", replied the CEO. "The family understand this could fail, but they've just taken the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.

Impractical

A number of in the tutoring industry who share similar doubts.

Another CEO, head and founder of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the journey of embracing two identities, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."

Peter wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been brought up understanding and embodying both cultures. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.

"The concept that a single person can act as a representation of English culture, a person who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman onto a infant child, strikes me as naive and unrealistic," he commented.

"Based on my background, having a typically British tutor from babyhood will not necessarily produce the result they want.

"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and yet I have been lucky enough to experience many of the experiences they desire for their son."

He added: "The reality is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Certainly, Britishness is something Adam hopes can be taught – and sold.

"I think the situation that the world regards us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating