I've taught introductory programming to undergraduates in both C and Python at different times. In my experience students struggle to grasp computer architectu

I've taught introductory programming to undergraduates in both C and Python at different times. In my experience students struggle to grasp computer architecture and memory management at the same time as learning to think like a computer and formulate ideas in code. They have coped much better with Python and enjoyed how time/effort is spent solving useful problems rather than boilerplate. Ideally they would all learn about computer architecture and memory management at some point. But at least with this course motivation and interest is a big problem, and producing confident Python programmers seems a better result than terrified students who can't produce competent C.