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"A household residing in north London is looking for an exceptional and skilled instructor to guide their smallest child on his early path to turning into an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this listing, you might easily skip the phrase "beginning" as simple a turn of phrase.

However, it may be the crucial part of this unique job advert, as it aims to hire a teacher for a infant.

Hundreds of submissions have now been sent in since the anonymous family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".

Over the last few weeks, the post has attracted attention in the press, with numerous questioning why?

Innovative Idea

Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite initial skepticism, he considered the concept "far sighted", and "innovative".

When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unconventional character of their demand, and how immature their son is.

But, they explained that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that point "cultural influence had already set in".

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

It's "all-encompassing", he replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".

He said the firstborn had picked up "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had assumed their cultural habits. The family informed Adam they did not want this pattern to recur with their infant.

The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to shape the baby from day one.

Subtle Influence

"A lot of the education at the outset here is rather osmotic," stated the expert.

It's via this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will pick up the British traits they want to cultivate.

Adam explained the tutor needed to be someone who went to "the right kinds of schools – similar types of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The tutor simply needs to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.

Cost Not Relevant

The family told Adam the chosen tutor should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in riding, skiing, the arts and musical activities so as to influence the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.

Additionally though, he stated the family desired 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 about three years old".

In the family's perspective, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in accomplishment and provide access.

"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.

However, in spite of all this tutelage in "Britishness", might the child pick up what is termed cultural bias from the international family he resides with anyway?

"Yes", replied Adam. "They understand this may not work, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he stated.

Overly Optimistic

There are some in the education sector who express these concerns.

Another CEO, chief executive of a tutoring service, who also offer personal educators, wrote that "the process of becoming bicultural, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."

Peter wrote that he had relocated from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised experiencing and living dual heritages. He progressed to learn at a prestigious UK institution.

"The idea that one individual can act as a embodiment of UK identity, someone who can possibly transfer the attributes of a British gentleman onto a infant child, seems to me optimistic and unfeasible," he wrote.

"From my perspective, having a distinctly English tutor from infancy will does not instantly create the goal they hope for.

"I did not have such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they desire for their son."

He added: "The reality is, personal identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Certainly, Britishness is something Adam thinks can be taught – and sold.

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