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"A household located in North London seeks an exceptional and skilled tutor to support their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an English gentleman."

When reading this advertisement, you might easily overlook the phrase "initial stages" as simple an expression.

But, it may be the most important aspect of this unique employment listing, as it aims to recruit a mentor for a infant.

Hundreds of responses have since been received since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "an exceptional individual".

Over the last few weeks, the listing has gained notice across the media, with many questioning why?

Progressive Approach

Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding initial doubt, he found the idea "far sighted", and "progressive".

When he consulted the family, he said they appreciated the atypical character of their demand, and how early in age their son is.

But, they stated that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already become established".

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

It's "all-encompassing", the expert answered. "How you eat, how you speak".

He said the elder child had adopted "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family informed the consultant they hoped to prevent this pattern to recur with their younger child.

The intention: To bring in a UK tutor, who should speak with RP, to guide the baby from day one.

Osmotic Learning

"Much of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," said the CEO.

It's through this natural absorption that the family are aiming the child will acquire the UK customs they aim to cultivate.

The consultant noted the tutor had to be an individual who studied at "prestigious academies – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".

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

Cost Not Relevant

The family informed the expert the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in horse riding, alpine skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to shape the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.

Furthermore though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are about three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in success and open doors.

"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he notes.

Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", could the child adopt alleged cultural bias from the international family he is raised by anyway?

"Absolutely", replied Adam. "They know this could fail, but they've simply adopted the perspective of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is not relevant," he stated.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

Several in the education sector who express these concerns.

Another CEO, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or indeed, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not manufactured."

Peter noted that he had emigrated from China to the Britain at the age of seven, and had been brought up experiencing and living both cultures. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.

"The notion that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, someone who can possibly transplant the attributes of a British gentleman to a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and unfeasible," he stated.

"Based on my background, engaging a quintessentially English tutor from babyhood will does not necessarily produce the goal they hope for.

"I never had that kind of mentor, and however I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the opportunities they hope for their son."

He stated: "The truth is, personal identity can not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Certainly, Britishness is something the CEO hopes can be educated – and sold.

"I think the fact that the international society holds us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating