Why use C?

The C language is the oldest widely-used programming language; it was developed in 1972.

It was not designed for ease-of-use or suitability for teaching.
It was not designed for modern computers -- C gives (and forces) the programmer to control low-level features of the computer.
The language follows the philosophy of the Unix operating system: stdin/stdout, everything is a file, etc.
C makes it very easy to write unsecure code (scanf("%s", name); I'm looking at you!).
Almost all universities and colleges have switched to java, python, or scheme for their introductory programming courses.

Given the disadvantages of C, why are we learning it?

Because C is so old, there are many, many software libraries which use it -- particularly libraries for scientific and engineering processes. Learning C will enable you to use and understand this vast resource.
Due to its minimalist roots, C produces very small executables. This doesn't matter for desktop applications, but it is absolutely vital for writing software for "embedded systems" such as remote control devices and fuel injection systems.
C forces the programmer to think about what's happening on the hardware level. For most programmers, this is a disadvantage, but as electrical engineers, this turns into a pedagogical advantage.

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