Why does Margie keep thinking about old school despite the presence of the mechanical teacher?

Correct answer: The machine does not fulfil her need for social imagination and joy

The governing concept is the difference between mechanical instruction and meaningful schooling. Margie’s teacher performs its programmed function, but it cannot provide friends, shared activities, spontaneous conversation or the pleasure of discovering ideas with other children. The old book therefore stimulates her imagination: she begins to picture a school where a human teacher teaches many pupils together. Option A is correct because it explains both her curiosity and her emotional dissatisfaction. Option B is false; the machine does give lessons, although Margie dislikes its geography tests. Option C is unsupported because the book is not trapped in the machine. Option D is also false, since Margie continues to study at home. Her longing is caused by social and imaginative absence, not by a failure to receive lessons.