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"Parents located in the northern part of London is looking for an exceptional and skilled instructor to assist their smallest child on his first steps to growing into an English gentleman."

When reading this advertisement, you might naturally overlook the term "initial stages" as mere an expression.

But, it could be the most significant part of this unusual employment listing, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a infant.

Numerous of applications have already been submitted since the unidentified family posted their search for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".

Over the last few weeks, the listing has received attention in the media, with several wondering why?

Innovative Idea

Adam Caller, chief executive of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, said that despite initial scepticism, he viewed the concept "forward-looking", and "advanced".

When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical nature of their demand, and how immature their son is.

But, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to get a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already become established".

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

It's "everything", the expert responded. "The way you eat, how you speak".

He said the elder child had absorbed "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had adopted their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their younger child.

The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to guide the baby from day one.

Subtle Influence

"A lot of the development at the outset here is kind of absorbed naturally," explained Adam.

It's via this subtle influence that the family are aiming the child will adopt the English characteristics they aim to cultivate.

He explained the tutor had to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – similar types of schools as the family hope to send their son to".

"The tutor must be the appropriate candidate, they'll be carrying out things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.

Expense Not a Factor

The family informed the expert the selected educator should ideally also have knowledge of or passion in equestrian activities, winter sports, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a wide range of hobbies.

Additionally though, he stated the family hoped the tutor to sign up the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "pony-riding and starting an instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "English gentleman" will result in success and create opportunities.

"Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.

Yet, in spite of all this guidance in "UK identity", would the child adopt alleged cultural leaning from the multicultural family he is raised by anyway?

"Certainly", answered the CEO. "The parents understand this might not succeed, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'we should try and we should start as quickly as we can', because the expense of it is not relevant," he explained.

Overly Optimistic

There are some in the tutoring industry who express those doubts.

Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies personal educators, commented that "the journey of embracing two identities, or actually, becoming oneself, is something that must be grown into, not engineered."

The expert wrote that he had emigrated from Asia to the UK at the period of 7 years old, and had been educated experiencing and living two backgrounds. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge.

"The idea that a single person can function as a embodiment of UK identity, an individual who can possibly impart the attributes of a UK sophisticate upon a 12-month-old child, seems to me optimistic and unrealistic," he wrote.

"In my experience, employing a typically English tutor from infancy will will not necessarily achieve the outcome they want.

"I wasn't provided with such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been lucky enough to live several of the opportunities they aspire for their son."

He added: "The truth is, cultural identity cannot be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."

Buying Britishness

Naturally, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be instructed – and sold.

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