That's silly. If you can reasonably claim to know how to program, the choice of language largely doesn't matter. Someone who knows how to program in [first language] should be able to pick up how to program in any language one is likely to encounter in an industry position.
So the first language should be one that gives the student a firm foundation from which one can become that competent.
I've personally seen excellent introductions to programming using C (CS50x), Python (Think Python, MIT 6.001), and Scheme (SICP).
So the first language should be one that gives the student a firm foundation from which one can become that competent.
I've personally seen excellent introductions to programming using C (CS50x), Python (Think Python, MIT 6.001), and Scheme (SICP).