We’ve recently published three new teaching activities on DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives. Each focuses on Colonel Rick Rescorla (U.S. Army, Ret.), who perished in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Rescorla is credited with saving the lives of 2,700 fellow employees of Morgan Stanley and inspiring all those around him. The teaching activities touch on topics of service, sacrifice, community, leadership, and citizenship.
In the activity Two Moments in the Life of Rick Rescorla: Vietnam & 9/11, designed for grades 5-8, students will analyze documents about Rescorla’s military service in Vietnam and his actions on September 11th. They conclude by discussing how Rescorla epitomized the ideals of service and sacrifice.
Rick Rescorla: A Life of Service and Sacrifice, designed for grades 8-12, introduces students to Rick Rescorla as they analyze documents spanning his life, with particular attention to his military service in Vietnam and on 9/11. Students reflect on the impact that immigrants can have on the United States and how Rescorla’s actions in Vietnam that earned him a Bronze and Silver Star were similar to his actions on September 11th.
In Analyzing Rick Rescorla’s Petition for Naturalization, designed for grades 3-8, students will determine the types of information one can gather about a person from a mid-20th century naturalization record.
Also highlighting Colonel Rescorla will be the National Archives online program A Life of Selfless Service, Sacrifice, and Civic Engagement: Cyril ‘Rick’ Rescorla on Friday, September 10, 2021, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. EDT. A panel will discuss Rescorla’s lifelong courage, service, sense of community, and inspirational leadership. Megan Jones, Senior Director of Education Programs, 911 Memorial and Museum, will moderate the conversation with Conrad Crane, Chief of Analysis and Research for the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, PA; Lissa Young, Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY; and Jenna Ryall, Director of Civics for All at the New York City Department of Education.
Register for the program and watch it live on YouTube on September 10th.
The program “A Life of Selfless Service, Sacrifice, and Civic Engagement: Cyril ‘Rick’ Rescorla” is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Maggie & Robert Boroujerdi.