Comparing airplanes to women is fine as long as they don't find out we are doing it.

But a question is in order. What accelerates air? How can you move a volume of air? How do you accelerate anything that has mass?

Answer - apply a force to that mass.

How can you apply a force to a volume of air?

Answer - pressure differentials across the volume.

If you can accelerate a volume of air with pressure differentials, then why not accelerate a wing the same way?

Seems pretty simple. Simons in his book Model Aircraft Aerodynamics (a good simple book) talks about heavier airplanes having larger masses of air deflected, the same with higher airspeeds. Is is all consistent with conservation of mass and energy laws. Of course, anywhere in the process those laws must be obeyed. You get upwash, downwash, circulation, etc. All can be determined and analyzed. But it is interesting that he goes on to say on Page 13 while talking about an airfoil,

"On both sides there is still acceleration away from the stagnation point but on the underside the peak velocity is less than on the upper side. Pressure is therefore higher below than that above the wing and lift is produced."
Regardless what you explained to your students, what we are talking about is, hopefully, exact science. What happens when you put an air flow over a control surface? You get pressure differentials caused by some fundamental aero principles. Those pressures put forces on the surfaces. The direction of the forces can be easily evaluated by looking at the direction they are pointing. Like camber effects. Interesting how all of the forces on an airplane are a result of the same process.

The bottom line is - what are the forces on the airframe that actually move the airframe, not the downwash, air, or anything else. What are the forces on the airframe for F=ma to occur for the airpalne? - The answer is pressures on the airframe.

It is amazing how many text books on my shelves talk a lot about pressures on a wing and practically nothing about downwash. But I found page after page of pressure work, Why?, you must ask. Are they all wrong? Why not chaper after chapter about downwash instead of pressures?

Lou you are simply putting the emphasis on the wrong thing.