So the logical entailment here is what? That everyone should have the dexterity of a dental surgeon so we can save the 7000 dental surgeons 3 months of training? Am I missing something?
Learning cursive (and other skills) in school is about trying to make sure opportunities for professions are not excluded.
While cursive is not a foundational skill (compare math and reading), it is a way to train fine motor control.
And it's not only the dental surgeons, but also dental hygienists... and doctors and surgeons (anyone who uses a scalpel). One could also look at various craftsmen such as jewelers and watchmakers.
Learning cursive is a way to make sure that we don't exclude people at an early age from professions that they might want to go into.
What is the downside of learning cursive?
* Reading and responding to other people's emotions. * Emotional regulation. * Generalized sequencing. * Musical ability. * Counting. * Following patterns.
While you may see it as a waste, you may very well have benefited in significant ways from learning it at a young age.
So I would totally put it on the same level, theoretically. That is, you can write block letters with just as much skill and care as you can cursive, I think. Just like you can write cursive by just doing squiggly lines (as doctors write prescriptions).