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"A household based in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified educator to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this post, you might naturally skip the phrase "first-steps" as mere a turn of phrase.

However, it may be the most significant element of this unusual job advert, as it aims to find a teacher for a infant.

Hundreds of responses have since been sent in since the anonymous family advertised their search for the highly paid tutor, who must be "a uniquely qualified person".

Over the last few weeks, the post has gained attention in the press, with many wondering why?

Forward-Thinking Method

Adam Caller, chief executive of Tutors International, which is supporting the family in their search, explained that notwithstanding first doubt, he found the concept "visionary", and "progressive".

When he spoke with the family, he mentioned they understood the unconventional nature of their requirement, and how immature their son is.

However, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had postponed until their older child was five, and by that stage "cultural conditioning had already set in".

But what does the family indicate by "cultural predisposition"?

It's "everything", Adam answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".

He said the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to him they hoped to prevent the same situation to repeat itself with their infant.

The plan: To hire a British tutor, who needs to speak with RP, to shape the baby from day one.

Natural Absorption

"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather acquired indirectly," explained the CEO.

It's via this osmosis that the family are hoping the child will adopt the English characteristics they want to instil.

He said the tutor needed to be an individual who studied at "the right kinds of schools – comparable categories of schools as the family plan to send their son to".

"The instructor must be the suitable individual, they'll be performing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he added.

Cost Not Relevant

The family told the expert the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a diverse set of hobbies.

Furthermore though, he said the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an tool by the time they are about three years old".

In the family's minds, guiding their son grow into a "British gentleman" will lead to success and provide access.

"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's undoubtedly a social class indicator," he notes.

But, despite all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child absorb what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he resides with regardless?

"Certainly", answered he. "They know this may not work, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.

Overly Optimistic

A number of in the private teaching field who express these concerns.

Peter Cui, CEO and founder of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, becoming oneself, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."

Peter noted that he had relocated from Asia to the UK at the period of childhood, and had been raised understanding and practicing both cultures. He progressed to learn at the University of Cambridge.

"The idea that a single person can serve as a representation of UK identity, someone who can somehow transfer the attributes of a English gentleman onto a one-year-old child, strikes me as idealistic and unfeasible," he wrote.

"From my perspective, engaging a typically English tutor from infancy will does not automatically achieve the result they want.

"I did not have such a figure, and however I have been lucky enough to enjoy numerous of the situations they aspire for their son."

He stated: "The fact is, personal identity should not be imposed from the outside; it must be selected, and it must be internally driven."

Buying Britishness

Certainly, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be instructed – and commercialized.

"In my view the fact that the global community views us in this respect is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating