Why are we like this?

641 words | 2 mins 33 sec read time

Recently, I talked with a neighbor about the state of public school education as it relates to neurodivergent children.

Newsflash: It's not great, as I'm sure many of you know.

During that conversation, though, my neighbor made a larger point that applies to more than just parent interactions with the school system.

My neighbor noticed a lack of trust in her interactions with her child's teacher during their very first meeting. So much so that she had to work hard to build trust in that relationship so they could begin to address her child's issues as teammates instead of adversaries.

Research shows that people are more likely to respond negatively to people they do not trust. In one study, people who knew others didn't trust them had lower opinions of those people and were less likely to behave altruistically toward them.

In my neighbor's case,…