The General Academic Strand (GAS) covers a variety of subjects. It equips students with the academic foundation to pursue any college course and career. GAS students are trained with many fields of study which gives them flexibility in the future. This is a good strand lalo na sa mga estudyanteng hindi pa sigurado sa larangan na gusto nilang pasukan.

While this strand is more broad and general, the experience of being a GAS student is anything but generic. From challenges to the best parts of it too. That said, here are five things every GAS student can relate to:

1. You get to choose your subjects

Since GAS covers a bit from the other academic strands, it’s hard to fit everything in just two years. That’s why students can choose what subjects they want to focus on. Unlike the other strands, may kalayaan ang mga GAS students pumili ng kanilang mga electives. Maaari silang pumili mula sa mga HUMSS, STEM, and ABM classes. You get to create a mix of cool classes like sports science, biology, accounting, and more. Whatever fits your interests!

2. People think you don’t have goals

Since this strand takes a general approach, students are stereotyped as people who don’t have goals. You’ve probably heard people say that GAS students are lazy for not knowing what they want to do (yet) in the future. Don’t be discouraged, if you hear this, lalo na kung hindi ka pa sigurado sa gusto mong gawin in the future. Figuring out what you want is a goal in itself.

3. People are surprised by your talents

Since GAS students are stereotyped as those who are not sure about what field they want to pursue in the future, people just assume that they do not specialize in anything. When in reality, GAS students can excel in anything too. While students are in a general academic strand, they also have passions and talents that are unique to them. On the contrary, GAS students have a range of skills since they are exposed to many fields of study. Marami silang kakayahan pagdating sa academics, arts, sports, at iba pa!

4. You have it "easy”

GAS might seem like the easiest strand out of all the other senior high school (SHS) strands. But the reality is, there are no easy strands. Each one has its own set of challenges. In GAS, iba’t ibang larangan ang pinag-aaralan ng mga estudyante, which means that they’re learning things from the other strands too. They work a mix of projects and activities from business proposals and research papers. A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.

5. You know your strengths and weaknesses

Since GAS students experience a bit of what it’s like to study the other academic strands, they get to know their strengths and weaknesses. Taking a variety of classes is like trial and error for GAS students. And that’s the point! For instance, taking ABM subjects like accounting lets you know if you are skilled or at least interested in the ABM field. The same goes for the other academic strands. In taking GAS, dito mo malalaman kung saang aspeto ka may kakayahan at kung saan ka nahihirapan. Since the GAS curriculum is designed to be interdisciplinary, hindi ka limitado sa pag-aaral at pagsubok ng isang larangan!

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Written by: Bea Salcedo