Strand Shaming Among

HUMSS Students

Published by Mary Grace

November 12, 2018

-Aileen Paleza
https://marygracecalendatas.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/strand-shaming-
among-humss-students/

Through the years that K to 12 Program is being implemented,

strand hierarchy is slowly growing. It is the assumption that a
particular academic strand is much better and higher than the other
strand. Meanwhile,it is really questionable why this kind of hierarchy
among different academic strands was built where in the first place it
was not needed. It seems like a competition of whose academic strand
is more challenging and in what strand do most likely smart and
intelligent students belong. And this often leads to strand shaming.

Strand shaming is not a new issue. It is mostly experienced by

senior high school students. It is where students are making criticisms
and degrade students from other strand. There are many insulting
words or phrases tossed around when discussing academic strands.
Humanities and Social Science students usually experience this, some
of the insulting words thrown to them are “HUMSS are for those who
are not good in math. At some point, excelling in mathematics and
science subjects are highly praise in our society that is why many
people consider that being a HUMSS student is easy because it does
not focus on mathematics and science subjects.
 Being a senior high school student is not easy. Not just
because of loads of paper works, projects or exams. At certain
times, the stigma that many students received after choosing
which academic strand to spend their final two years of high
school could also bring pressure to them. Every academic strand is
not easy, each strand have their own subjects that students
should master during senior high school in order for them to
survive in college. 

Furthermore, low self esteem and poor academic

performance would be the prominent effects of strand shaming
among senior high school students. However in terms of
behavior, a student who experienced shaming or humiliation
could have negative behavior towards other people. Those
offensive and degrading words, student are being discourage in
their studies which may eventually lead low self esteem and poor
academic performance.

All throughout this study, researchers will find out the

primary reasons of strand shaming together with the effects on
the behavioral aspect of the students. Moreover, this research
aims to seek for possible ways to end strand shaming on
Humanities and Social Science students.
Are the SHS strands created equal? On
the issue of strand discrimination

By: Trex Aluquin
 
August 22, 2020

https://politixxx.today/on-the-issue-of-strand-discrimination/

We, as a society, have set standards in our education system that allow
us to deem which disciplines are more important than others without even
considering the function each field serves. This is especially true in the
Philippines where a divide is evident among the students of the senior high
school (SHS) program, which begs the question: is there a clear prejudice on
the case of SHS strands?

For context, the K-12 program is a newly developed curriculum

implemented in the Philippines which adds two years to the 10-year Basic
Education Curriculum. The two additional years focuses on more specialized
subjects depending on the track and strand taken by a student. There are four
main tracks offered by the K-12, namely: Academic, TVL, Sports, and Arts and
Design, with the Academic Track being the most commonly offered in schools
nationwide.

Howbeit, it can be observed that a social hierarchy is built upon how

these tracks are offered. Since the Academic Track is the most commonly
offered, students under it gain a sense of superiority—especially on the
discussion of which strand is the most challenging or technical. Generally, STEM
is upheld in a higher regard because they specialize in math and science,
inarguably gruelling fields. It creates this false notion that STEM is superior only
on the basis of difficulty and complexity.

Embedded in our culture is the constant pressure on the younger

generation to pursue a career in medicine, engineering, or business, with the
idea that it will guarantee financial success in the future, which clearly is not the
case.
 HIERARCHY: INTELLECTUAL
DISCRIMINATION
KAREN PAMOR

Jan 6, 2019

https://medium.com/@karenmaepamor/hiera4rchy-intellectual-
discrimination-2eee7e67aa10

A year after Benigno Aquino III got elected as the president

of the Republic of the Philippines, the K-to-12 program has been
approved. The K-to-12 program meant an additional two years to
the four-year high school before. Each of these strands has their
own strengths and specialization. 
Due to cultural background and peoples’ mindset,
misconceptions happen and that is something we cannot deny.
People tend to subconsciously bend facts. They use the strands’
strengths to form a hierarchy in their minds fit to their own
version and definition of intelligence.
The classic stereotypes arise. If a person has high grades and
excels academically, he is expected to take up either STEM or
ABM. If a person is good in speaking and has good rapport, he is
expected to be in HUMSS as a senior. STEM and ABM are the top
choices of people as chosen strands because they deem it fit as
strands at the top of the food chain, forming hierarchy as time
goes by.
 These stereotypes lead to hierarchy. The hierarchy leads to
discrimination. And discrimination leads to strand degrading.
Because of strand degrading, many students are being
affected by this. This intellectual discrimination and stereotyping
has an effect for those students being degraded. In emotional and
mental aspects, discrimination can make students, who are being
degraded, be pressured since they have to prove other people that
they are wrong. This pressure can turn into stress that can lead for
students to think suicidal thoughts that even though they will do
everything, people will not appreciate them since they already
have the label.