The Only Black Boy in a Class of Fifteen. He Ate Lunch Alone Every Day.

ETHN-101: Introduction to Ethnic Studies · Starts Sunday, August 16, 2026 at Theoria Technical College

Marcus is four. He is the only Black child in his preschool classroom. The other fifteen children are Latino.

At outdoor play on a Tuesday, three little girls line up on the play structure to start their game. Marcus walks over and waits at the edge to see if anyone will say his name. One of the girls looks at him and says, in a soft, matter-of-fact voice: "Tú no puedes jugar."

Marcus does not know what she said, but he can see her face. He turns around, walks over to the bench, and sits down. He is four years old and he has already learned not to cry about this one.

His teacher is Latina. She loves Marcus. She sees the whole thing. And in that moment, she does not know what to say.

The teacher who has taken ETHN-101: Introduction to Ethnic Studies knows exactly what to say in real time, to the four-year-olds, to Marcus's mother at pickup, to her director. She does not freeze. She has vocabulary, frameworks, and practice. That fluency is not personality. It is training.

What the Course Teaches

ETHN-101 is a General Education course, Area F, Ethnic Studies required in the AS in Early Childhood Education. Five weeks, fully asynchronous, launching this Sunday, August 16, 2026.

The foundational text is Richard T. Schaefer's Race and Ethnicity in the United States (9th ed.). Layered on top: the NAEYC 2019 Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education position statement and Derman-Sparks & Edwards's Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves the two documents every accredited ECE program in the country now expects its teachers to know.

Students build fluency in the core vocabulary, race, ethnicity, intersectionality, prejudice, immigration, indigeneity and apply it to real early childhood practice. The course culminates in a Culturally Responsive Practice Plan: a portfolio artifact students can hand to a hiring director or attach to a CDA application.

For Directors

The programs that are earning the trust of families right now are the programs where every teacher can respond to a moment on the play structure without freezing.

Send one teacher from your team into ETHN-101 this fall. Five weeks. Fully online. Real units. Real capstone your teacher brings back into the classroom.

For Teachers

You already know. You have already been the teacher standing in the yard, watching, telling yourself you would handle it tomorrow. This is the course that finally gives you the language for tomorrow.

You do not need a bachelor's. You do not need to already understand the frameworks that is what the course is for. You need five weeks and a willingness to do the work.

Enroll This Week

ETHN-101 launches this Sunday, August 16, 2026 and runs five weeks online through Orbund. No prerequisites.

Enroll, or nominate a teacher on your team: Student Services· studentservices@theoriatechnical.com · (760) 487-8436

Because Marcus is going to be on that bench tomorrow. Somebody in that yard needs to know what to say next. And knowing what to say is a thing that can be taught.