Back in the early days of Doctor Who, it was intended to help children learn about history and science. But what kind of teacher would the Doctor actually be?
Education and teachers play an important role on Doctor Who. From the beginning, with Ian and Barbara, through recent times, with Clara, teachers have taken their place as the Doctor’s companion. Coal Hill School has been an important part of the Whoniverse, and the students occasionally make appearances on the program.
We have even seen the Doctor at Coal Hill. Several stories have occurred there, and the Seventh Doctor was thought to be applying to take over as the new caretaker after the janitor went missing. This was reprised when the Twelfth Doctor became the new caretaker during Series Eight, as he tried to lure a Skovox Blitzer away.
For all of his time around teachers, and the prominent place that education and history was intended to have in Doctor Who, it makes one wonder what the Doctor would be like in such a role. The Twelfth Doctor could be an interesting professor, although his attack eyebrows and lack of patience for questions may thwart his skills as a teacher.
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Chances are, the Doctor would not do well in a classroom setting. His different idiosyncrasies and mannerisms would make the ideal of a structured setting quite difficult. Just imagine some of the previous incarnations wandering into a classroom and attempting to teach various topics. The Eleventh Doctor with a group of teenagers? That would have disaster written all over it from an educational standpoint.
If they were to put the Doctor into a teaching role, as had been the original intent, he would be best suited in the TARDIS, taking the occasional student that impressed him on various adventures. There, he could open up an entire universe to someone who may not have been interested in a traditional education, but showed the sharpness and intellect that he so covets.
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While we are never going to see Doctor Who go back to its intended roots as an educational program, it may be interesting to see the Doctor step into more of a teaching type role at some point. As a guide through history, he may be perfect.