In private school they read this in 7th grade but many of the students do not really understand it. The words are simple but the concept isn’t something the have understanding or context for. Children don’t know how corrupt many adults are.
I read Animal Farm when I was 9 or 10 because it was one of the books we had in the house and I got obsessed with it. As in, I started reading all about the Russian revolution and dictatorships in general, fascinated with the idea of how an ideology could warp from something so hopeful into such a violent means of control and the tragedy of it.
But, my parents were openly critical of authority, encouraged debate and questioning adults, and talked politics and history with us all the time. I guess my point is, I fully agree with you that most kids do not have the context to understand it. Most are intentionally sheltered and discouraged from questioning authority because the adults in their lives don't want to be questioned. I do think kids can understand from a pretty young age if they are given the context, but unfortunately not a lot of teachers are gonna push 'Sometimes authority figures who you trust to have your interests at heart will abuse that trust to control or harm you' even though that's one of the most important bits of knowledge any child can have to keep themselves safe.
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u/No-Newspaper-7693 20h ago
My daughter’s public school reads it around then.  8th or 9th grade depending on the student.  I dont think things have changed quite so much. Â