Today we’d like to introduce you to Brent Ford.
Hi Brent, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was adopted by great parents that raised me in Alpine, California and I graduated from Granite Hills High School. Then, I decided to work for a little while and played punk rock and heavy metal music. I had shoulder surgery in 1993 and I had to settle down here again in San Diego and get a job while I rehabbed my shoulder. I got a job at El Capitan High School is a teacher’s aide and coach on the girls tennis team and I liked it so much that I went back and got my teaching credential in Special Education and applied for and got a job at El Cajon Valley High School in 1998… 27 years later I’m here at El Cajon Valley High School still teaching as a Special Education teacher and also as a CTE Arts Media and Entertainment teacher and I’m still playing music here in San Diego and Southern California and wherever that takes me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life’s road is never smooth… It’s always more like a roller coaster of ups and downs and I’ve had my share of ups and downs. Some of the struggles I’ve endured have to do with “how to make it through life raising children, holding down a job and paying all your bills here in an expensive economy in Southern California”. I’ve also learned that I am the one in charge of navigating my life to where I want to be. I teach that to my kids and my students. I learned a lot of that from the many mentors I’ve been blessed with in my life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been playing bass guitar since I was 15 years old and I was introduced to reggae music sometime around my mid twenties it really changed my life with a positive message and the bass driven songs it really made me feel empowered and I was blessed to watch and learn from some of the greatest bass players around right here in San Diego California names like Sean Brandes or David Goldfein or John Allen were people that I would go to clubs and watch perform and say “I want to be like that guy”. The groove was solid and it really resonated with me. So now I’m 56 years old. I’ve been playing in the reggae scene here in Southern California for about 30 years all the while teaching at El Cajon Valley High School to help support my family. My family is my thing that I’m most proud of. My son Jake and my daughter Briana are both amazing people and are doing amazing things with their lives. I’m so happy that they’re happy. My wife Alison is the rock of our family and I could not do my life without her. I love her so much.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I would say that I consider myself more of a boundary pusher than a risk taker. I think risks can have some negative consequences that will hold us back from things that we may achieve just because they are things that we want to try to do quicker than we should. I do believe in stretching yourself and multiplying yourself and trying to help to support as many human beings in this world as I can. That’s why I love teaching so much. I feel like I’m pushing the boundaries every day trying to get these kids to buy into an education system that not only gives them the academic skills to succeed but to find creativity, resilience, and balance in their lives and help push them forward.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @dubsquadreggae or @thejadelounge
- Email: jadeloungeproductions@gmail.com
