When I was young, I was taught script handwriting in grade school. We did the exercises with loops and such, and I learned to write legibly. I’ve lost a lot of that, mostly due to hurrying when I write. I have long admired people with elegant handwriting, though, and wished to improve my own.
In a recent search for handwriting tutorials, I found a book on the Palmer method, which seems to match the way I was taught, although this has much more depth than I recall from my lessons.
I don’t believe that you could use this book in schools today, though. The exercise at the top of this page would probably get any young man sent for counseling, if not suspended or expelled. I’m not certain what would happen to a young woman caught doing the exercise.