What’s something kids can’t do, but teachers don’t teach? If you answered “cursive,” write a flowing capital letter “A” by hand on your report card. Once a staple of classrooms and ...

Cursive always seemed a tad laborious ... and one day while taking notes as he lectured, I started writing in little capital letters because it was easier and allowed me to follow him more closely.

cursive writing. “Messy! Messy!” For weeks, our teacher lectured on this new way to communicate. I still remember some of the mnemonic tricks she used for some of the harder letters.

Here's why. Ask anyone who completed third grade in the 1980s or earlier and chances are they will have a memory of trying to get that capital G loopy enough or have a favorite letter to swoop and ...