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"A household located in north London wants to find an exceptional and qualified instructor to guide their youngest child on his initial journey to turning into an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this post, you might easily overlook the phrase "first-steps" as just an expression.

However, it could be the crucial part of this unusual position posting, as it seeks to recruit a teacher for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of applications have since been submitted since the unnamed family posted their search for the £180,000 per year tutor, who has to be "a uniquely qualified person".

In recent few weeks, the listing has attracted interest across the media, with numerous wondering why?

Forward-Thinking Method

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

When he consulted the family, he mentioned they recognized the unconventional aspect of their request, and how immature their son is.

However, they explained that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their elder sibling was five, and by that point "cultural conditioning had already set in".

But what does the family refer to by "cultural bias"?

It's "everything", he replied. "The way you eat, how you speak".

He said the elder child had absorbed "very nuanced, unspoken signals" from the family, and had taken on their cultural ways. The family explained to the consultant they wished to avoid the same situation to repeat itself with their new baby.

The plan: To bring in a English tutor, who should speak with Received Pronunciation, to influence the baby from day one.

Osmotic Learning

"A great deal of the education at the start here is rather absorbed naturally," stated the expert.

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

Adam said the tutor needed to be someone who went to "prestigious academies – the same kinds of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The educator just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they aren't even aware they're doing, simply by nature," he added.

Expense Not a Factor

The family informed the expert the successful candidate should ideally also have familiarity of or passion in horse riding, alpine skiing, creative fields and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a wide range of passions.

More than that though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to sign up the child on a variety of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are about three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son become a "UK sophisticate" will lead to accomplishment and create opportunities.

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

Yet, in spite of all this instruction in "English culture", would the child adopt so-called cultural bias from the international family he is raised by regardless?

"Yes", said Adam. "The family realize this might not succeed, but they've simply adopted the attitude of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as soon as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

There are some in the private teaching field who express those doubts.

An education leader, chief executive of a tutoring service, who supplies personal educators, stated that "the process of embracing two identities, or actually, forming one's identity, is something that must be lived into, not designed."

He noted that he had moved from the Far East to the United Kingdom at the age of seven, and had been educated understanding and living both cultures. He continued to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.

"The notion that one individual can function as a representation of English culture, someone who can somehow transfer the qualities of a British gentleman upon a one-year-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.

"In my experience, employing a typically British tutor from infancy will not automatically achieve the result they want.

"I never had such a tutor, and however I have been privileged enough to enjoy several of the experiences they hope for their son."

He added: "The truth is, self-identity cannot be forced from the external environment; it must be selected, and it must originate internally."

Acquiring Englishness

Naturally, English culture is something the expert hopes can be educated – and sold.

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