In WA schools it appears about half the primary teachers teach cursive or running writing whilst the others seem to concentrate on printing alone. Makes it very interesting when they get to high school in respect to how I write notes on the board. For me my printing is shocking due to nerve damage affecting my fine motor skills (had it all my life) but due to a lot of practice (and I mean a lot) I can produce decent script when writing cursively. If I print it is difficult for most to read, if I write cursively only half the class can read it
. My answer is to use overheads or power point to get the message across.
As for spelling, educational theory has tossed the use of phonics out the window. Why can't kids spell??? There is your answer. It is only now coming back into vogue as the academics and theorists who pushed it out find they cannot read the work of their students. Grammer whats that????
Mark