Today, with so many school systems rendering the instruction of this historic form of handwriting voluntary or (in the case of schools in Hawaii and Indiana, obsolete), cursive training is becoming a lost privilege, perhaps soon to be available only to the type of children whose parents are inclined to enroll them in after-school cotillion and manners-training programs. That, of course, would be a great shame.

Before cursive instruction becomes yet another victim of the current budget-cutting, technology-worshiping epidemic, let’s rediscover the value of this elegant skill that, although tedious to learn, has enriched lives for generations. By encouraging your local school board to carry on teaching cursive to elementary school-aged children you’ll be supporting a long and valuable tradition. And many years from now, you’ll continue to reap the benefits each time a fiend or relative (perhaps one that isn’t even born yet) sends you a handwritten card or letter. You know you love getting them!