But you wonder, did learning those writing skills, the hand-eye coordination, did it give kids abilities that they no longer have today? It’s a big change.
Ha! When I was in grade school, circa 1960, I couldn't get past the "loops" exercise. It was my observation that "the girls" or at least some of them, could do this perfectly. I could only produce a mangled Slinky. So, it was all hopeless to me, and I abandoned cursive writing in 6th or 7th grade, in favor of rapid-fire printing. IIRC, it was my sixth grade teacher who caught me doing this, and asked me to continue my demonstration. She was satisfied that I could keep pace, and let me be.