There is a middle way, and that middle way is to realize that the relationship between PHP (and other frequently beat-upon languages) and other programming lang

There is a middle way, and that middle way is to realize that the relationship between PHP (and other frequently beat-upon languages) and other programming languages is not at all like the relationship between Rat poison and a normal meal. Most any language can teach the absolute fundamentals of programming (logic and how to control it, loops, if/then, functions), and it doesn't really matter to a beginner, nor will it really affect how well they learn or the quality of their learning. The middle ground is to do as all teachers do: 1. Accept 2. Advise 3. Advocate As a mentor, we first accept the terms of the students curiosity. The student lacks so much information about making any choice, that when they say "I want to learn PHP" it does them almost no good to try to head them off or explain why they should choose something else. As the mentor, we must accept the students line of inquiry and begin to foster this curiosity with the situation we are given. Next, the mentor must advise. Once we have accepted the line of curiosity that the student has chosen, we feed this flame with more information. The students curiosity will take hold and begin to spread to other areas, testing and learning from this original place of understanding. As the student questions, the mentor answers. Eventually, the student will begin to have confidence in what they have learned. They will learn and work for information more readily, and will come to the mentor less and less often for advice and counsel. Once the student is at this point of confidence, the mentor can begin to advocate for ideas and concepts as yet unknown to the student. This is where the real learning happens, where the student has been given enough information to even understand and make sense of the mentors advice. This is the time for the mentor to say "maybe you should not use PHP. As you can see, there are things that are inconvenient and which you wish where different. There are other languages that provide what you seek." The student, now properly equipped to understand the mentors advice, can follow them. This structure is how many of us, inadvertently or not, learn the crafts we know.