I wouldn't say VB is in any way pointless. And in what way do you think that VB forces bad programming techniques? VB is an excellent language to learn for a beginner, as the learning curve for C/C++ is very steep if you are unfamiliar with how programming works. VB can be very useful, as learning the BASIC syntax (which VB is based on) allows you to write macros and VBScript with ease. Also, the .NET Framework makes it almost as powerful as C# in terms of object-oriented programming. It makes it easy to switch to the C syntax (possibly with C#), and then into fully unmanaged code when you're ready.
