This paper notes a devaluation of children in American society and urges that more attention be paid to the emotional growth of children, who are subject to the same forces that create in adults feelings of powerlessness, attitudes of superficiality and nonreflection, intolerance for delayed gratification, and confusion about self and interpersonal relations. The importance of warm human interaction and the way in which social-emotional development is inseparably intertwined with cognitive development are stressed and illustrated with references to Skeel's orphanage study and to Piaget and Freud. It is shown that the societal value of integrity in relations with others is slowly being lost, and teachers are urged to regain a sense of humanness, to clarify their moral and ethical values, and to strengthen in themselves a love of people, pride in work, and pleasure in contributing to others. Since children look to adults for clues to what is acceptable or not, it is suggested that adults make a careful choice of those values that they wish to pass on to the next generation. (GO)