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"A family located in north London is looking for an extraordinary and qualified instructor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to becoming an English gentleman."

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

However, it may be the most significant part of this unique employment listing, as it aims to hire a tutor for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of submissions have already been submitted since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "a uniquely qualified person".

In recent few weeks, the post has attracted attention throughout the press, with several wondering why?

Progressive Approach

The CEO, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is assisting the family in their quest, said that notwithstanding initial scepticism, he viewed the plan "visionary", and "innovative".

When he met the family, he noted they appreciated the unusual aspect of their demand, and how immature their son is.

Nevertheless, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already taken hold".

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

It's "comprehensive", he replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".

He stated the elder child had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they did not want history to happen again with their new baby.

The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from the very start.

Subtle Influence

"Much of the education at the start here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.

It's via this natural absorption that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.

He noted the tutor must be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".

"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.

Cost Not Relevant

The family told Adam the successful candidate should preferably also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, alpine skiing, the arts and music so as to influence the child in a diverse set of hobbies.

Additionally though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "horseback riding and learning an instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son become a "English gentleman" will lead to success and create opportunities.

"Considering the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a status symbol," he comments.

However, in spite of all this tutelage in "English culture", might the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he resides with in any case?

"Absolutely", answered he. "The family know this might not succeed, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.

Impractical

Several in the education sector who have those concerns.

An education leader, chief executive of Blue Education, who provides individual instructors, wrote that "the development of becoming bicultural, or indeed, becoming oneself, is something that must be lived into, not designed."

The expert explained that he had emigrated from the Far East to the Britain at the age of childhood, and had been brought up understanding and embodying dual heritages. He progressed to learn at Cambridge University.

"The idea that a single person can function as a embodiment of English culture, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a infant child, seems to me naive and impractical," he stated.

"From my perspective, employing a distinctly British tutor from infancy will does not instantly achieve the goal they desire.

"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to experience numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."

He stated: "The truth is, cultural identity can not be forced from the external environment; it must be embraced, and it must come from within."

Acquiring Englishness

Of course, English culture is something the CEO thinks can be instructed – and marketed.

"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating