My lived experience as a first-generation PhD student of color informs my approach to Critical Dialogic Pedagogy—and that matters. My lived experience as a woman-identified person of color has taught me that my cultural and intellectual background impacts my perspective of what equitable education means in the classroom. My lived experiences as the child of immigrants has taught me that cultivating equitable education in the classroom is a commitment to demystifying academia for my students. My choice of showing up as authentically myself has taught me that I am approachable, that I lead with kindness, that my humor resonates with students, that I allow them the opportunity and space to ask questions and learn freely, and that I challenge them to form their own critical arguments based on their positionality in the classroom. All of my lived experiences have taught me that living through critically informed initiatives and dialogic practices is an iterative process—one that involves radical listening, reflection, and critically engaging with learning.

For me, Critical Dialogic Pedagogy means that my voice and personality matters as I work towards developing a classroom environment that is inclusive, safe, and considerate of all perspectives when approaching controversial topics of political theory. My perspective of the classroom as being a place to be collaborative, respectful, and brave is informed by an environment of mutual learning. My perspective of the classroom being a site to learn how to think critically reveals how open communication and mutual respect are important elements of the class. Dialogic Pedagogy is one way I am able to critically engage with dialogue facilitation when it comes to providing a safe space for students and for all who enter the room.

In essence, as a person, student, and scholar, my lived experience has taught me that academia is a place where I can take up space as authentically me, which can make all the difference for a student like myself. It is important to recognize how every part of my identity that I have named, and those that I have not, impact my approach and implementation of Critical Dialogic Pedagogy. My personal experience of existing in the world of academia and beyond impacts my engagement with dialogue in the classroom in order to create a collaborative, respectful, and brave learning space and challenge the elitism, classism, racism, and sexism of academia. As a Vietnamese child of immigrants and first-generation scholar and student, I will critically engage with implicit and explicit power structures within academia in order to support students towards our shared goal of learning in a safe, inclusive environment.