It's unwise to neglect it in the long run. It's perfectly reasonable to ignore it initially. There are different valid pedagogical approaches here. Your approac

It's unwise to neglect it in the long run. It's perfectly reasonable to ignore it initially. There are different valid pedagogical approaches here. Your approach may be suitable for the type of student you were interacting with, but the profile you're familiar with doesn't represent every person who might be interested in learning C.