Documentary about Colorado College’s block plan for the best film at the Helsinki Film Festival | Arts and entertainment
It began on a cold November afternoon in 1968. A group of young Colorado College professors sat around a table at Murphy’s Tavern.
Over pints on the table, Professors Glenn Brooks and Don Shearn discussed with their colleagues how to achieve more effective teaching as the college underwent major changes.
“Why can’t the university give me 15 students and let me work with them — no time limit,” Shearn suggested.
This was the spark that led to the block plan—a teaching format that allows students to take one class at a time for 18 days, with the theory that they can learn more effectively by focusing their energy on one subject.
The proposed course method has been in use for 50 years at Colorado College – and recently gained international attention.
The film “The Block Plan”, which documents the history and impact of a unique teaching arrangement, won the best film at the international Helsinki Education Film Festival 2022.
Filmmakers Steven Hayward and Bryan Beasley directed the documentary in honor of the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the concept at the college in 1970. The film takes the viewer from the design of the block plan to its current application by following four students. at Colorado College who study in a block plan format in real time.
“We wanted to show the past from the inception of the block plan to the lived reality of today’s plan,” Hayward said.
After hearing about the Helsinki Education Film Festival, which emphasizes education-oriented films, the directors decided to send the documentary. The goal of the festival is to provide a channel for teachers and filmmakers to exchange ideas on the international stage.
“They’re very specialized film festivals,” Beasley said. “We knew right away that this was kind of like our Sundance.”
Hayward, who attended the Helsinki Film Festival, said the win was a “pure surprise”. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Hayward watched the film on the big screen for the first time with an audience.
“People responded in a really emotional and authentic way,” she said. “People were really moved by different parts of it. It felt like the culmination of a long journey.”
The film did not shy away from criticism of the block plan, including its mental health effects on students and professors.
“We didn’t want to produce propaganda,” Hayward said. “It was a forward-looking, questioning documentary. That’s what people responded to – it wasn’t an ad, it was a documentary.”
The project was largely funded by the Inasmuch Foundation and crewed by Colorado College alums.
“There are some critical moments,” Beasley said. “We got to make the movie we wanted to make.”