Coming from a background in mental health counseling, Mercedes Flores-Nava knew that she wanted to help foster positive development in children. When she heard about the Human Dignity Curriculum, she hoped it would help her students learn and grow.

In contrast to other curriculums focusing on anti-bullying or kindness, the HDC lessons were different. The curriculum topics address treating persons as subjects and not objects, valuing human beings for their intrinsic worth, and using the powers to think and to choose what is excellent. The HDC message is that each student, regardless of background, has inherent worth and that we are all equal in human dignity. 

Building on her career experience, Mercedes wanted to find different ways to bring these topics to her students and to strengthen the value they placed in themselves. In her previous role at the counseling center, she focused on wellbeing and self-image, two aspects deeply embedded in the HDC. After Mercedes and her team brought the HDC to their community, it was not long before they started seeing positive results in the students. “It really changes the way they view themselves and others.”

The HDC was soon adopted by five different schools in her community from pre-K through grade eight. Mercedes witnessed the students becoming more confident in expressing themselves and participating in the different activities in the lesson plans, particularly in the skits and scenarios in the lessons on friendship and solidarity. Mercedes even noticed the drawings of her students in counseling began to change – from more solitary and somber scenes to images depicting friends having fun together, reflecting the ideas in the curriculum about how true friends act.

Mercedes shared that a striking outcome of implementing the HDC is noticing how much more the students like to communicate their emotions now, through the role playing scenarios offered in the lessons. Her fifth-grade students routinely ask, “can we act it out?”

For Mercedes, the biggest accomplishment and the most rewarding aspect of bringing the HDC to her community is seeing the impact on the students. When students learn through the curriculum that they have intrinsic and inalienable value, no matter their circumstances, and that they have the power to choose what is excellent, “they are that much happier,” Mercedes said. “Students behave differently when they are able to recognize their worth.” 

In the year to come, Mercedes plans to bring the message of human dignity to even more students in her school district. Mercedes’ story reminds us that students thrive when they learn about human dignity.

Read more about the impacts of the Human Dignity Curriculum here! 

New York City — From June 24-26th, 2025, educators, researchers and advocates from around the world came together for the first-ever Human Dignity Curriculum Seminar. Participants braved a heat wave in Manhattan, perspiring through sweltering subway rides in order to meet each day and share inspiring stories, emerging research, and a vision for human dignity education.

The seminar featured many encouraging testimonials on how the HDC is growing and transforming students’ lives. Representatives from the Philippines shared about the HDC’s remarkable growth in their country. With its most recent expansion, the HDC now reaches over 800 public and private schools and upwards of 200,000 Filipino students. 

Seminar attendees also heard from US public high school principal, Dr. LaTisha Williams and high school teacher, Kerra Downing, on the impact of the Human Dignity Curriculum in their schools in Kansas. “These students came to us with tons of walls built up about education and about themselves, but with the Human Dignity Curriculum, they are learning to not only respect others, but also to have respect for themselves,” said Dr. LaTisha Williams.

School counselors from Orange County, California shared about how they are using the Human Dignity Curriculum in their work with students: 

Using a human dignity framework, we focused on affirming the client’s intrinsic worth and treating him with unconditional respect—regardless of his diagnosis or challenges. As a result of this therapeutic work rooted in human dignity, the client experienced a notable transformation. He reported feeling more confident, excited to attend school, and began initiating conversations with peers. He shared that he now feels a sense of belonging and recognizes his contributions to the school community as valuable.

Based on the success of the integration of the Human Dignity Curriculum in their counseling programs at a number of schools, one counselor noted that they hope to expand the work in schools throughout California and continue providing training to counselors, staff, teachers, and parents.  

Researchers from the University of Florida and St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada, also joined the seminar, presenting their findings on the Human Dignity Curriculum, published in the first formal evaluation of the HDC in Frontiers. Dr. Mark Pacheco, Assistant Professor in the School of Teaching & Learning at the University of Florida’s College of Education, gave a powerful presentation entitled “Dignity and Discourses: How Do Students View Human Dignity?” 

In his presentation, Dr. Pacheco discussed his research on human dignity, including student responses to two key questions: What is human dignity? And how do their perspectives on human dignity shape their experiences? Dr. Pacheco shared that by discussing these important concepts in the classroom, the abstract is made concrete, as the Human Dignity Curriculum helps students shape their sense of agency and approach others with curiosity and humility. 

Two teachers from Canada gave presentations on their experience in teaching the curriculum, with one teacher, Luke Trainor, remarking that: “You can see the changes in the classroom culture after the HDC lessons. Students grow in tolerance and respect for one another because they understand the deepest level of who they are – a person with human dignity – and so they can extend that respect to others.” Another educator with experience teaching in public school settings, added: “every kid needs this.” The exuberance and joy in the room throughout the three days of the seminar was palpable. “You could really sense the commitment during these days together”, said one participant, as she worked on her implementation plan to bring the HDC to her local board of education.

The Human Dignity Curriculum affirms and transforms students, however, without the commitment and dedication of passionate educators in public and private schools, our work would not be possible. We are deeply grateful to the many teachers, researchers, and education advocates who took the time out of their busy schedules to come together to learn and share about the Human Dignity Curriculum. We look forward to HDC Seminar 2026!

Learn more about HDC here.