Statistics should start with a genuine problem, and with the collection of information to solve that problem. Using a spreadsheet program as the computational vehicle almost forces this approach, and some advantage should be taken of it. If you use only a slick data analysis package there is a real tendency to start with the methodology and then look around for handy data sets on which to try it out. . In special purpose packages the computations are often very opaque. For starting-off students, at least, there can be a real advantage in having a statistically neutral computational vehicle, so that the structure and phases of the calculation can be appreciated, such as the estimation phase, the test statistic phase and the inference step. .
Some students actually like it and feel very comfortable using a spreadsheet program.
This is in fact true. It may seem like cruelty to dumb animals but many schools these days bring their students up on a diet of Microsoft pap and many get to become quite good at it, such is the energy, resourcefulness and optimism of youth. In this game it is the people closer to my generation who find change and innovation difficult. Here things start to get very murky indeed. The list is long and worrying.