I always thought teaching cursive at a young age aided hand eye coordination, focus, and concentration. I am 67 and can write in cursive but due to a lot of board drafting when younger my usual writing is a combination of lettering and cursive. If I am taking notes I might have 3 different e styles in a word like Beersheba.
I used to get complements on my handwriting. I studied and practiced calligraphy as well. Computers have ruined it. I can type pretty well, but no one compliments me on my handwriting anymore. It looks pretty bad to me, too.