> Python, with its "batteries included" philosophy is a poor choice because it misses the original intent. With Scheme, you have to invent everything. With Pyth

> Python, with its "batteries included" philosophy is a poor choice because it misses the original intent. With Scheme, you have to invent everything. With Python, you just have to look up the documentation. Your point doesn't hold. With Racket, which is the recommended scheme, you don't have to invent everything - you just have to look up the documentation. And if you think you won't use Racket, or use #lang htdp or something in Racket; these are artificial restrictions and students can very well be asked(like you are asking not to use batteries with Racket)to respect them while coding in Python. There are other reasons to prefer Scheme over Python, but this isn't one.