I never took formal classes in photography. I learned it all on my own reading and studying what I could on this site (I joined a couple months after getting my first SLR camera back in 2004, a Minolta SRT-102) and for the first several months I used nothing but fixed focus lens (50mm f/1.7 and a 200mm f/3.5). First four rolls, I got one good photo out of each roll.

So I agree with you, however, with the massive influx of digital cameras, why not let someone use their fancy dSLR but have them slap on a 50mm lens and run the thing fully manual (it'll save money on film development).

I guess it's all about the person. There are those who buy dSLRs because they like high tech things and *think* it'll let them take better photos, and then there are those who buy it because they really want to learn.