Glenn Holland is a musician and composer whose primary goal is to write an amazing piece of music that will leave a mark on the music world. Mr. Holland takes a job as a high school music teacher in order to take care of his wife and son. The movie shows Mr. Holland's journey through 30 years of his life as a teacher, husband, father, colleague, and friend. Significant world events are shown throughout the movie to portray the many changes that take place over the 30 year period. As Mr. Holland shares his love of music with his students over 3 decades, he struggles with his marriage, his relationship with his son (who is deaf), his difficulty with accomplishing his goal of creating an important piece of music, and feeling a sense of accomplishment as the years quickly fly by. As Mr. Holland faces retirement because the school's music program is cut, he learns that his true success is in the relationships that he had made over the course of his life and the many people he has touched. As people become older, they embark on many different life stages. This movies displays the different roles that Glenn Holland took on throughout his life.