Chabot Spectator

Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: In Focus

Media Credit: Graham, Paige Steve Ahmed stands affirmatively as he lectures about the Native Americans.

Every teacher at Chabot has developed a specific way to teach his or her class. They may find some unique way to instruct so their students will be able to practice a new and innovative way to learn. Some teachers try to relate the subject back to the students; others use humor as a way to grab the attention their students and some even use his or her own life experiences to make the subject seem more real.

For Steve Ahmed, all of these factors and more contribute to the instruction of his class. Having graduated from California State University East Bay, with a Master's in sociology and holding another degree in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Ahmed teaches his class with a flair that is not employed by many teachers.

Why did Ahmed start teaching? He stated in e-mail, "I have been teaching for a very long time. But this is something that I now understand about the art of teaching.

You don't really choose it; you develop a passion for study and research and find yourself deeply satisfied when imparting useful and enlightening information to others.

That course of activity drives your choices and for me the inevitable result was teaching; but remember for me, teaching is studying and the thrill of sharing what I learn with others."

Over the years he has taught, introduction to sociology, marriage and the family, social problems, minorities, and drug and alcohol abuse at Chabot. At Cal State East Bay, he taught sociology and philosophy, and at Laney College in Oakland, he taught logic.

In his sociology class at Chabot, Ahmed focuses on the origin of humans and how they migrated across the world over thousands of years.

After many years of studying and teaching these origins, he changed his name only to fit what he believed was his origin. Years later after having his named changed, he had a DNA analysis done, which only confirmed his beliefs.

Why did he originally change his name? Ahmed stated, "The reason may seem complex on the surface but in reality it's quite simple. First, it is a conversion name. So it means that at one point in my life I decided to consider spiritual values as central in my life.

Secondly, the surname that I had [orignially] is the name of a person who owned slaves. I know that because I did the research and found my family tree in Nachitoche, Louisiana.

Continued...

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