Through which comparison is the importance of human teachers clear in the story?

Correct answer: A comparison between old human teachers and future mechanical teachers

The governing literary technique is contrast. Isaac Asimov presents Margie’s future education through a mechanical teacher and places it beside Tommy’s account of old schools, where children learned together from a human teacher. This comparison reveals that the older system offered shared experiences, conversation, friendship, and direct human guidance, while the mechanical system was solitary and fixed. Therefore, option A is correct. The comparison is not about games, houses, or inspectors; those details do not organize the central idea of the story. Recognizing this contrast helps readers understand why Margie begins to imagine that children in the old schools may have enjoyed learning more.