Not sure it matters really, since programming will "speak" to some people and not to others regardless of the language. But in terms of JavaScript specifically

Not sure it matters really, since programming will "speak" to some people and not to others regardless of the language. But in terms of JavaScript specifically, I think first timers could do without being exposed to lexical scoping and truthiness. I like that Javascript gives you encapsulation without necessarily object orientation, which is probably a good place for beginning programmers to start.