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"A household residing in north London seeks an extraordinary and experienced instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."

Looking at this listing, you might easily miss the wording "first-steps" as mere figurative language.

However, it might be the most significant part of this unusual position posting, as it aims to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of submissions have since been submitted since the unidentified family advertised their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "someone very special".

Over the last few weeks, the advert has attracted attention across the press, with numerous questioning why?

Forward-Thinking Method

The CEO, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their search, stated that notwithstanding early doubt, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "advanced".

When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional character of their request, and how immature their son is.

But, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".

What exactly did the family refer to by "cultural predisposition"?

It's "comprehensive", the expert answered. "The manner you eat, the way you speak".

He explained the elder child had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed Adam they wished to avoid history to repeat itself with their infant.

The plan: To engage a British tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby right from the beginning.

Subtle Influence

"Much of the development at the outset here is kind of acquired indirectly," stated the expert.

It's by means of this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the English characteristics they aim to impart.

The consultant explained the tutor had to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire 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.

Expense Not a Factor

The family told the expert the successful candidate should preferably also have understanding of or enthusiasm in riding, alpine skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of interests.

More than that though, he said the family desired the tutor to register the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "equestrian training and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".

In the family's view, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will bring about success and open doors.

"Taking into account the rights and wrongs of that, because it's certainly a class statement," he comments.

However, despite all this tutelage in "UK identity", could the child adopt alleged cultural influence from the international family he resides with anyway?

"Yes", answered Adam. "The family realize this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

Several in the education sector who share similar concerns.

Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be grown into, not designed."

Peter wrote that he had relocated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the time of seven, and had been raised experiencing and living both cultures. He progressed to study at the University of Cambridge.

"The concept that one individual can serve as a representation of Britishness, someone who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a infant child, seems to me idealistic and unrealistic," he stated.

"From my perspective, engaging a typically UK tutor from early childhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they hope for.

"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live numerous of the opportunities they hope for their son."

He added: "The reality is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the external environment; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Naturally, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be instructed – and commercialized.

"In my view the fact that the international society views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating