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"A household based in the northern part of London wants to find an extraordinary and qualified educator to guide their smallest child on his early path to growing into an British gentleman."

When reading this listing, you might easily skip the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.

But, it may be the most significant aspect of this unusual job advert, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a 12-month-old.

Numerous of applications have now been submitted since the unidentified family published their request for the highly paid tutor, who must be "someone very special".

During the past few weeks, the listing has received interest in the press, with numerous wondering why?

Forward-Thinking Method

A tutoring expert, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their hunt, said that notwithstanding early skepticism, he considered the idea "forward-looking", and "advanced".

When he consulted the family, he said they recognized the atypical nature of their requirement, and how early in age their son is.

However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to get a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that stage "cultural bias had already taken hold".

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

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

He explained the firstborn had picked up "really subtle, unspoken signals" from the family, and had assumed their cultural ways. The family informed Adam they did not want history to repeat itself with their younger child.

The strategy: To engage a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby right from the beginning.

Osmotic Learning

"A lot of the learning at the start here is somewhat osmotic," stated the expert.

It's via this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will pick up the English characteristics they wish to impart.

The consultant said the tutor had to be someone who attended "the right kinds of schools – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".

"The instructor simply needs to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, just naturally," he added.

Expense Not a Factor

The family told him the chosen tutor should preferably also have understanding of or passion in horse riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and music so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of hobbies.

More than that though, he explained the family desired the tutor to enrol the child on a selection of classes so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an tool by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's minds, guiding their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and open doors.

"For all the advantages and disadvantages of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he notes.

However, in spite of all this instruction in "UK identity", might the child adopt what is termed cultural bias from the multicultural family he lives with in any case?

"Certainly", said he. "The parents understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'why not attempt it and we should start as soon as we can', because the expense of it is irrelevant," he explained.

Impractical

There are some in the private teaching field who share similar concerns.

Peter Cui, chief executive of an educational organization, who supplies individual instructors, wrote that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not designed."

Peter noted that he had emigrated from the Far East to the UK at the age of childhood, and had been educated understanding and living dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at the University of Cambridge.

"The notion that a single person can act as a living vessel of Britishness, a person who can possibly transplant the characteristics of a British gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as idealistic and impractical," he wrote.

"From my perspective, engaging a typically English tutor from early childhood will not necessarily produce the goal they want.

"I wasn't provided with such a figure, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."

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

Purchasing UK Culture

Naturally, UK identity is something Adam thinks can be educated – and marketed.

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