Hi Brad,

Having taught SQL Server for a very long time now, I very much have the same experience and stance. Fact is that many DBAs just won't code - at ltest not today. So, dismissing maint plans will just leave those servers without maintenance. I nowadays, while teaching, do spend some time on maint plans, how it is implemented, what each task does and try to be as neutral as possible about it. Of course, part of this includes explaining the downsides where there is such.