In Monday’s whole-school assembly, Senior Deputy Head Mr Rounds invited students to think about what it really means to be a ‘good human’ – which is at the very heart of Trinity’s culture.
He discussed the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York in 1964, which is famously linked to a social psychology theory called the ‘bystander effect‘. At the time a newspaper report stated that dozens of her neighbours heard or saw the attack but did not intervene. This case, although the facts are now known to be distorted, was a catalyst for social psychologist research into why people do not help in emergencies.
In sharing this, and other examples which challenge the idea of the bystander effect, Mr Rounds guided students toward a much bigger message about kindness, courage and the choices we make in moments that matter.
His message was clear. Despite what we might see on our news feeds, humanity is not sliding towards indifference. In fact, most people want to do the right thing, and once one person acts, others tend to follow. The real challenge is to be that first person the one who notices, who speaks up, who helps.
The moment that we all felt proud was when Mr Rounds shared a recent example from our own community. A parent had called the school office to express gratitude after being unexpectedly separated from her young child on a bus journey from East Croydon. Two Trinity students calmly stayed with the child, reassuring her, until mother and daughter were reunited.
We do not yet know which students they were but whoever they are, they showed exactly the kind of quiet courage and compassion that Mr Rounds hoped to inspire.
A fitting reminder that being an upstander rarely requires dramatic heroics. Sometimes, it’s simply choosing to do the decent thing.
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