[calinet6]

I think this hits the nail on the head. You learn more about the concepts of programming itself, rather than just about a single set of syntax and procedure.

At my school, they downplayed specific languages entirely and I think it was very beneficial. We were expected to learn the basics of a language for a class in the first week, whether it be Java or Python or whatever else. Obviously details would always come up later on, but the attitude was always "don't worry about the language, you can learn it as you go, worry about the concepts" and in that mindset, I definitely think the learning was more effective.