If I was teaching an intro to web dev class, I'd probably start with a static tool (I use Jekyll .. it sucks ass but I started using it yonks ago and can't be bothered to migrate), then move on to jQuery and only then move on to a framework like React/Vue/SolidJS ... not enough people truly understand how all the components fit together.

And you can't just "do it all in static/jquery" for large projects with big teams. As shitty as the new frameworks are, they're big advantage is making it easy for large teams of people to all work on the same codebase without constantly stepping on each other's work.