I'm self taught & think a sampler of all different styles will be more beneficial to beginners. I learned a lot on my very early Star Sampler--a lot of what not to do!
Instead of a complete quilt of sample blocks though, I would turn each one or a few into something like tablerunners, placemats, pillows, totes, potholders, etc. That way they won't get burned out waiting for an entire quilt to be finished and will end up with a bunch of little finished projects. I'm more stubborn than most & wanted a quilt by gosh so some may still choose to save all the blocks for a quilt.