Why does Margie feel something like envy for children of the past?

Correct answer: Because they had human teachers and classmates

The governing concept is the value of shared, human-centred schooling. After reading about schools of the past, Margie imagines children learning together in a building, sitting with classmates, talking, and being taught by a real person. Her own education is solitary: she studies at home and interacts mainly with a mechanical teacher. The contrast makes the old arrangement appear attractive, so she feels envy toward children who enjoyed companionship and direct human guidance. Option A is therefore correct. Option B is wrong because the children of the past did study. Option C reverses the facts, since machines belong to Margie's future. Option D is also wrong because old-school children went to school outside their homes.