"The day they cut the football budget in this state, that will be the end of Western Civilization as we know it!"

"It's almost funny. I got dragged into this gig kicking and screaming, and now it's the only thing I want to do."

"You work for 30 years because you think that what you do makes a difference, you think it matters to people, but then…"

"[to Rowena Morgan - after she tells him she'd love to be a singer in New York] ... you have a great talent and if you…"

"A teacher has two jobs; fill young minds with knowledge, yes, but more important, give those minds a compass so that …"

"Iris Holland: Why is everyone else's child more important than yours?"

"Bill Meister(crying over the grave of Louis Russ, a former student killed in Vietnam): We know too many of these kids!"

"Gertrude Lang: [as an adult] Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have…"

"A symphony of life."

"Playing music is supposed to be fun. It's about heart, it's about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, a…"