Personally, I think it's a huge mistake to stop teaching kids cursive. But that's just me.

As for Shakespeare, I have his collected works. I've read them for pleasure. I don't hate his work. But, I agree with you that from an educational standpoint, they would never be my first choice. They were very difficult for many students, if not impossible to grasp. We always ended up watching the movie, which, for me just cheapened it all and to cram it in in 4 weeks well, wasn't fair to those who jsut couldn't get it.

I keep odd hours too. :)