Is C really that much more difficult to teach in? Difficult enough that it justifies creating an entirely new language? I stopped using Pascal as soon as I learned C (so it never survived college) and looking around today Pascal seems to have faded into obscurity -- how good of a language was it exactly?

And was all of that hand-holding it provided worth it? Pointers can be confusing as heck but is that because the concept is confusing or because computer basics were never taught? And if they were never taught then why was that? Perhaps because Pascal let the teachers avoid the subject?

I think the time spent creating a new language could have been better spent developing a better Computer Science Curriculum. The Harvard Calculus Reform Project (aka Calculus Consortium at Harvard) comes to mind.