There’s Levels to This: Code-meshing in a Community College Classroom

Abstract

This article argues that writing teachers should allow, and even encourage, students to code-mesh in community college classrooms. By looking at and analyzing code-meshed writing produced by three students in an English 101 class, the author argues that code-meshing provides students with both a craft-wise approach to writing and a way to address issues of language discrimination in a politically meaningful way. Often, articles on code-meshing seem to focus either on theoretical ideas or on the work of “advanced” students; this article provides a rare look at student work done in a community college that takes advantage of this approach to language.