Your first sentence made me a bit sad but the rest of your post changed my mind. All good points, and it looks like the move to Python was the right thing to do.
It's important to remember we're talking about an introduction, here. Creating the spark of interest in students is the most important point in this class. There's always time after this to move them toward more expressive languages.
It's important to remember we're talking about an introduction, here. Creating the spark of interest in students is the most important point in this class. There's always time after this to move them toward more expressive languages.