Do any of you recommend Python as a first programming language?

[Martin P. Hellwig]

jmDesktop wrote:
> For students 9th - 12th grade, with at least Algebra I.  Do you think
> Python is a good first programming language for someone with zero
> programming experience?  Using Linux and Python for first exposure to
> programming languages and principles.
> 
> Thank you.

I for one can't really answer this question but I wanted to share the 
reason for that :-) since I worked in the dutch high school equivalent 
for a number of years.

First and most important is I think the objective you want to reach, at 
my school we had a number of angles:
- A math teacher using it as a simpler way of writing examples and 
explanation while being able to let the students see what is going on 
and why.
- A basic grade computer introduction, to let them feel what automation 
is about, more like the philosophy of it.
- A higher grade computer science (well for high school that is) 
introduction in to programming.
- A explanation what makes the computer tick and how it does it (cpu 
architecture, memory management etc.)

In my opinion python is extremely useful for all of these objectives, 
except for the last one, this would be more a job for assembler. My 
school decided not to go in depth to that because we felt it would be 
out of reach for the majority of the students and we didn't wanted to 
spoil the students when they decide to take up CS in university later on.


-- 
mph