I did technical drawing at high school and really enjoyed it. The connection to what is being designed is greater, and there is more understanding in what is being created. I work with a lot of design engineers and the older ones who started prior to CAD have a far better understanding of the practical nature of what they are designing. They can "see it" before they draw a line.
I have hardly used cursive since.
Writing is a dying art, and I think that something is missed because of it. I reckon the act of physically writing prose of some kind, accesses a different part of the brain than typing the same thing. It is also more personal - but who the hell writes letters anymore?
Oh, I write short ones to my daughter every weekend :)