i dont mean to be rude but arent all microcontrollers designed by engineers for engineers. i mean it doesnt happen that a microcontroller is designed by a sculptor!!!!!!!!! and a farmer certainly wouldnt be programming microcontrollers.
back to the topic. i recommend the PIC microcontroller. start from the PIC16F628. go to http://www.winpicprog.co.uk
I recommend an AVR. Try AVRMega32. Why? Im not too sure but it was the first micro I experiemnted with for learning and I found It very good. The programming hardware is quite simple (not as simple as 8051 i think) and the software is easy to obtain (if you like open source - GCC).
Its also got plenty of guts so once you become more experienced you wont need an upgrade for a while. Depending on application or course and im not sure if it fits your criteria of a small micro though
Atmel ATtiny 11 and 12 will soon be replaced with ATtiny13 which has built-in SRAM.
Later on ATtiny15L will be replaced with ATtiny25 which has built-in SRAM.
Because of the SRAM the new devices are more suitable for C language than the old ATtiny11, 12 and 15L are.