I know that varies by region, but schoolchildren are generally taught cursive as a faster way to write. It already requires some memorisation with some glyphs being different from block letters. Why not make an additional step and completely replace it with shorthand, making writing an order of magnitude faster?
Shorthand makes sense, since a lot of public schooling is about teaching you how to pass tests. I don’t mean to sound so cynical; they’re trying to teach you the critical thinking necessary to beat the tests. That’s how it works. They know you’ll never use most of that crap, but it’s also basis for other things, so it’s somewhat useful.
Cursive and its more elegant cousin, calligraphy, can be important, but are mostly useless. A class on both should be an elective at best. They’re nice to know and could be useful in some situations, but there are more jobs where shorthand would be an advantage, and it would be an advantage in note taking as well.