They taught millennials to write in cursive. I only stopped because some of my teachers couldn't read it. It took work to write in print as effortlessly.
Unlikely you'd get away with that in a European school, irrespective of how bad your writing is !
Here's a French newspaper article from 2012 bemoaning the fact that Calefornians are barely taught cursive. ;-) [1]
https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2012/11/28/01003-20121...
Another tidbit someone may find interesting, going through elementary school in the early 90s I was forced to write right handed, despite being a natural lefty. This was due to the teachers religious leanings. I grew up in a major metro area as well. I can write with both hands now, but prefer right handed writing so the spirals of notebooks don't push up against my hand. Anytime I pick up a new hobby I have a weird decision to make about what hand I want to use. Still haven't figured out if I bowl left or right handed!