> Similarly, they will run into languages where arrays begin with 0. Beginners should be taught how to think about it and such, not shove it under the rug.

Just to add to that: I am reading the book "Programming Algorithms in Lisp: Writing Efficient Programs with Examples in ANSI Common Lisp" written by "Vsevolod Domkin" and it explains it well enough for a beginner, I would say, at page 49; "Why Are Arrays Indexed from 0".