"Go to Your Corner!"

This is the kind of thing one might joke about, but no one actually does: When ordinary discipline failed to get 15 year old Trenton General to improve his grades, his

. . . parents were about to take the cell phone away — again — recently when they offered their son a choice. “His cell-phone for two weeks or a corner for two hours,” Don [his father] said. “He chose the corner.”

“The corner” was not a quiet spot in his room, but rather a very public intersection in the middle of town. There Trenton held a hand-lettered sign that listed his grades — an E in English and math, a C in science and an A in phys ed. At the bottom of the list the sign said, “My future = shaky!”

First of all, "an E in English and math"? What the hell is an "E"? Sounds like the grades at Boalt.

Second, I honestly don't know what to think about this. Sounds like it worked here, but what if your child is struggling because he or she lacks confidence or self-esteem? "The corner" seems like it would destroy the child in that case. On the other hand, it's pretty powerful medicine, isn't it? Some law schools publicize name and rank, which I suppose has a similar effect. But I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to go through that. For the second time this week, thank God I'm at Boalt.