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"Parents located in North London wants to find an extraordinary and skilled instructor to support their youngest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."

Looking at this listing, you might naturally miss the wording "first-steps" as simple an expression.

However, it might be the crucial part of this unique employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a one-year-old.

Numerous of responses have now been received since the unidentified family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".

Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted notice in the media, with several wondering why?

Innovative Idea

A tutoring expert, head and founder of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their quest, stated that in spite of first doubt, he viewed the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".

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

However, they explained that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their firstborn was five, and by that point "cultural influence had by then taken hold".

But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?

It's "everything", he answered. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".

He said the firstborn had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they did not want the same situation to recur with their new baby.

The intention: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from the very start.

Natural Absorption

"A great deal of the learning at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," stated the CEO.

It's via this natural absorption that the family are hoping the child will pick up the British traits they wish to cultivate.

The consultant explained the tutor must be somebody who studied at "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The instructor simply needs to be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he said.

Expense Not a Factor

The family told the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or enthusiasm in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of passions.

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

In the family's view, helping their son develop into a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.

"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's definitely a class statement," he notes.

Yet, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt so-called cultural leaning from the international family he resides with in any case?

"Yes", replied he. "The parents know this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and let's go as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not relevant," he stated.

Impractical

A number of in the private teaching field who have similar reservations.

An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, wrote that "the journey of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."

Peter noted that he had relocated from China to the UK at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up knowing and practicing both cultures. He went on to learn at Cambridge University.

"The concept that an individual can serve as a embodiment of UK identity, a person who can in some way transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a 12-month-old child, strikes me as optimistic and unrealistic," he stated.

"Based on my background, employing a distinctly UK tutor from early childhood will does not instantly produce the outcome they want.

"I never had such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to live many of the opportunities they aspire for their son."

He added: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Of course, Britishness is something the expert believes can be educated – and marketed.

"I believe the fact that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating