Python First

"But there is emerging consensus in the scripting community that Python is the right choice for freshman programming. Ruby would also be a defensible choice. Python and Ruby have the enviable properties that almost no one dislikes them, and almost everyone respects them. Both languages support a wide variety of programming styles and paradigms and satisfy practitioners and theoreticians equally. Both languages are carefully enough designed that 'correct' programming practices can be demonstrated and high standards of code quality can be enforced. The fact that Google stands by Python is an added motivation for undergraduate majors." -Ronald Loui