i teach in an elementary boys yeshiva, and its very common place to send a boy down a grade for a while as a last resort punishment. personally, i am very careful not to speak harshly or not to embarrass a student, and i’ve never noticed that this is a super-harsh or embarrassing punishment.
Ok, why don’t you tell us what the purpose of the punishment is, if not to embarrass the kid?
they see their brother/cousin/friend and do their work in isolation and boredom.
Oh, is that the point. To have a quiet different place to do their work? Then why not send them to the higher grade? Or to the library.
now if i would threaten to send them to the principal, they literally cry and turn all sorts of colors.
Judging by the principals who responded to this, I find it quite plausible that what the principals do to them is much much worse.
Personally, I can tell you that my principal, who was well respected in the community, has a special place in gehenom reserved for him, I am sure. He would figuratively kill little chidlren–but it was very effective. Kind of like the British did by making petty theft a capital offense.
On another note, this explains why they don’t complain when you send them down a grade–at least you didn’t send them to the monster in the principals office.