The very concept of punishment in yeshivos evokes feelings of disgust and dread. It is alarming that there are typically pages and pages of written (or unwritten) policy about how to punish, while rewards or individual attention to assist and guide are last on the list. This is not how Gedolei Yisroel address the subject of chinuch. There are a few shelves of seforim on the subject, all derived from Torah sources only, and NONE of them advance the approach of bullying kids into compliance. Before anyone attacks me with the posuk of חושך שבטו, I ask that these seforim are consulted first. I am far more comfortable with taking a strong stand against the stupid, rejecting practices of today’s generation (all the menahalim that advocate this) than the Gedolei Yisroel who openly spoke against it.
Just a few references from seforim that are contemporary. There are seforim on chinuch from Rav Yitzchol Zilberstein shlit”a, Rav Aharon Friedman shlit”a, the Nesivos Sholom ZT”L, Rav Shlomo Brevda ZT”L, and countless other seforim of likutim from generations of Gedolei Yisroel. After perusing these, comment to challenge me.
I don’t know about the shoe thing, but the attitude towards talmidim is stinky, and speaks volumes about the general approach to chinuch.