Unstructured code can actually be easier for beginners to learn. There's no magical implicit context in a loop, just a few variables they have direct control ov

Unstructured code can actually be easier for beginners to learn. There's no magical implicit context in a loop, just a few variables they have direct control over, and an instruction pointer they control with GOTO. Once a beginner has written a few small programs with GOTO, they'll start to feel the tedium and appreciate the benefits of structural abstractions, despite the extra things they have to learn. You can make the same argument for writing code with simple functions and records before object oriented code -- the power of the abstraction is easier to explain once they've run into the rougher points of not having objects. Absolute beginners are confused by polymorphism and loop constructs because they don't understand the problems the abstractions solve.