@peterdrake Sure that technically works. But why teach students bad practices and the wrong way of doing it when you could teach them the right way (with exceptions). It really isnt a difficult topic and is kinda fundamental to java.
@freemo Another issue is that some techniques (e.g., making fields private and having public getters and setters) only pay off for larger programs. I strive to introduce things just at the point where they are obviously useful.
That said, maybe this is a golden opportunity to introduce exceptions...