Two instructors, standing behind a desk in what appears to be a colorfully decorated elementary classroom, remove their masks, place them in a plastic bag, and welcome fifth and sixth grade students to another edition of the televised “Aprende en Casa II” program, which is produced by Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education in response to the pandemic. Meanwhile, on the #AprendeEnCasa YouTube channel, a puppet helps preschool teachers give instructions on hand-washing and counting, and fourth graders learn about pastel art.
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The Ministry of Public Education, known as SEP for its initials in Spanish, launched “Aprende en Casa,” or “Learn at Home,” in mid-April, after the massive closure of schools began in the second week of March, and the cancellation of classes for the rest of the school year became official on March 27. The program includes video capsules with educational content for preschool to high school students in the distance learning process, based on standardized national curriculum. The programming and contents to be worked on for each week are available on the SEP’s website, with the educational capsules available on a YouTube channel and broadcast by various public and private television channels.