1- I said I probably wouldnt address it in the classroomYou are talking about turning over the complete decision-making to students who are influenced by social media MORE than anyone on the planet? And you trust them to make the right judgment? Let me just say, the best educators would NOT ADDRESS that situation at all in the classroom as it has absolutely NO EDUCATIONAL VALUE. Schools, both private and public, are not the place to have social "judgments" on current events.
Talk about slavery during the Antebellum years, Fine. Talk about the Civil Rights Movement. Fine. Those are all factual, historical events. What has happened with Floyd is NOT (and let me add, what happened to him was bad.....should not have happened.....don't care how bad of a person he might have been).
2- It absolutely has educational value, when discussing government and the construction of race in society.
3- It will, in time, be relevant as a historical event as well.
4- On a high school level? Yes, I trust students to critically think about events, formulate opinions, and articulate and defend those opinions. My job as an educator isnt to spoonfeed dates and names and judgement, it is to help create students with the skills to think about everything they encounter (social media included), and make decisions based on evidence.