If you're trying to teach someone OOP with their first language, I think you're doing it wrong. If someone is new to programming, it's far more important that people get an understanding of simple procedural logic first. Anything that gets in the way of that is just likely to put people off.
I don't think Python is a great language longer term, but its simple syntax and lack of ceremony makes it pretty much ideal for beginners.
Alan Kay would disagree, and he's got some experience teaching programming to children. See my answer to your post's sibling.
Why is it far more important that people get an understanding of simple procedural logic first? (And what is it exactly? I've had a 'procedural' feeling when seeing:
- assembly code
- structured programming (Algol 60 and descendants)
- even some kinds of logic programming)
I don't think Python is a great language longer term, but its simple syntax and lack of ceremony makes it pretty much ideal for beginners.