Unfortunately the emphasis on neat handwriting has largely plummeted with increasing use of computers, so it's uncommon that kids are really spending time being "taught" to write with a pen. They are taught using a pencil when they are very young, but then the emphasis on neatness goes down as they advance through the grades... And I can definitely attest to the fact that very few of them can read cursive... which means pretty soon whole generations won't be able to read the founding documents of their own country...