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Cursive exists not because of quills and ink but because it’s easier on hand muscles when writing long form.

People used to write hundreds of pages a week. The letters I sent to friends when I was in college were probably 20 or 30 pages each, and several went out each week.

Writing that much in print hurts my hand, even today. Last year I switched back to cursive in my daily work notebook and it’s reduced hand pain greatly.

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Cursive in general, meaning letters connected together to minimize pen lifts, still exists because it's easier and faster than block lettering. It's the particular kind of looped cursive taught in America that was designed for dip pens and other older instruments. Writing this script with a modern pen or pencil trades legibility for writing speed and comfort.

My point is that if we want to keep teaching kids connected writing, there are cursive scripts that are easier to teach, easier to write, and easier to read than the one we've clung to for so long.

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