As a Teacher: Choosing a suitable programming language
My answer? Python.

Let me explain by tackling all your points.


Simplicity. Python code reads like English. Seriously, how simple is
print("Hello World!")
Generality. Python can be used for web development (via. Flask/Django), data analysis (via. NumPy/Pandas/SciPy), games (via. PyGame), as well as a multitude of other tasks because of the sheer amount of libraries there are.
Minimum Objective stuff. You can do some OOP in Python but it isn't required.
Platform. Python2.7 is in pretty much on every Linux distro and there are plenty of YouTube videos on setting it up on Windows/Mac. If anything, you can use the online interpreter that Repl.It offers.
Industry Preference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Python has consistently been ranked as one of the most popular languages.


In my experience teaching, it is extremely important to make sure that the syntax is as easy as possible to write and understand. For a new programmer, it can be pretty discouraging when he/she writes code only to see an error message (especially if he/she does not have the skill to read an error message and debug).

Side note, PythonTutor will be really helpful in explaining some major computer science/programming concepts.