If you really want to nit, the only function of a clutch is to slip during start from standstill. All other steps of driving can be done without touching the clutch pedal and with less wear, including shifting and stopping. That's just not a nice way to drive.
If you don't press the clutch during a stop, you risk increasing your stopping distance both due to engine inertia and due to it fighting back below idle - especially in a diesel van. We only have muscle memory when we panic, and it's bad if someone is taught in a way that makes them miss a pedal.
That's also part of why you are taught with stick over here - better be trained to press a pedal too much than a pedal too little. If you do take the license in an automatic, you get a mark on your license disallowing you from driving stick.
