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"A family located in the northern part of London wants to find an exceptional and skilled tutor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an British gentleman."

When reading this post, you might readily skip the term "first-steps" as just an expression.

However, it could be the most significant aspect of this unique position posting, as it seeks to find a mentor for a infant.

Hundreds of responses have now been submitted since the anonymous family published their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "an exceptional individual".

Over the last few weeks, the listing has received interest throughout the news, with several questioning why?

Innovative Idea

Adam Caller, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, stated that notwithstanding first scepticism, he considered the plan "far sighted", and "progressive".

When he met the family, he noted they recognized the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.

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

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

It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "How you eat, the manner you speak".

He stated the firstborn had adopted "very nuanced, body language" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed the consultant they wished to avoid this pattern to repeat itself with their new baby.

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

Subtle Influence

"A great deal of the learning at the beginning here is somewhat osmotic," explained the CEO.

It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the English characteristics they want to instil.

Adam said the tutor needed to be an individual who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".

"The instructor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.

Expense Not a Factor

The family explained to Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and music so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of interests.

More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son develop into a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and provide access.

"Taking into account the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.

However, despite all this tutelage in "English culture", would the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the international family he resides with regardless?

"Yes", replied Adam. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he stated.

Impractical

A number of in the tutoring industry who have these reservations.

An education leader, CEO and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."

He wrote that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been raised experiencing and practicing both cultures. He progressed to be educated at Cambridge University.

"The concept that one individual can serve as a representation of UK identity, an individual who can possibly transfer the characteristics of a British gentleman to a infant child, appears optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.

"In my experience, having a distinctly British tutor from babyhood will not automatically achieve the outcome they want.

"I never had that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."

He stated: "The fact is, cultural identity cannot be imposed from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Certainly, Britishness is something the expert hopes can be educated – and marketed.

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