I was a precocious 8-year-old, placed in a third-grade class for history, math and reading -- but not English. 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. Put a hat on "O," small and large. Widen the space between the two bubbles that make up a "K."

If pen retailers and state legislators are to be believed, cursive handwriting is facing an existential threat. Since the advent of the Common Core standards--which emphasizes keyboard skills over nicely shaped P's and Q's--it's been common knowledge for years that teachers are abandoning cursive in droves, spending classroom time instead on new technology and typing. But lately, fancy handwriting is having somewhat of a comeback. Louisiana's governor signed a law in June requiring cursive instruction all the way through grade 12. Mississippi's education department recently added script to its standards. And starting this school year, third graders in Alabama are required to write legibly in cursive under the newly passed "Lexi's Law."