I agree in principle, but the "introductory" programming classes I have taken were all so bad, I can't imagine anyone actually learning a bit of useful programm

I agree in principle, but the "introductory" programming classes I have taken were all so bad, I can't imagine anyone actually learning a bit of useful programming from them. Before we force people to take the classes we have now, how about rethinking Computer Science 101 so that it leaves you with some actual knowledge. A good start would be teaching it in python ;-)