Modern Perl" be damned. It is nought more than another attempt to introduce programming by rote.

Completely agreed. But some people learn by rote, and it's better to teach them a more robust rote than before.

But like painting by numbers, it is never going to produce works of art

Agreed. But even artists need to have tools, and learn about them

nor even practical craft

Depends on what you mean by "modern Perl". For me, "modern Perl" includes simple advice like "use 3-arg open". That certainly leads to practical craft.