The debate about bilingual education rages on in California, one of the most racially diverse states in the country. On July 11, the Los Angeles Times devoted its Op-Ed section to a discussion of the issue, featuring three pieces by various authors. The response was overwhelming; a separate article was dedicated solely to the letters that poured in following the July 11 columns. Here’s some of what people had to say about the issue.

Ana Garza, a professor at Cal State Fullerton, called for a reevaluation of Proposition 227, which was passed in 1998 and required that all public school instruction be conducted in English. In response to “Quality Counts” by Alice Callaghan, Garza had this to say, “we should advocate that all of our children be given the enrichment of bilingual instruction in the elementary years.”

In response to Bruce Fuller’s “The Spanish road to English,”Los Angeles-based teacher and writer Joseph Staub reminded us that “Waves of immigrants have come to this country and learned English…while honoring the culture and language they brought with them.”

But is this debate about honoring culture or is it about a competitive edge? In “A Skill, not a Weakness,” authors Laurie Olsen and Shelly Spiegel-Coleman called bilingualism a “21st centruy skill.” Do you agree?