I suppose there might be some concern that the boy might show some signs of his pain when being caned – a squeal, a cry, maybe even breaking down and sobbing. Perhaps canings were administered in private for that reason, to avoid the boy being embarrassed in front of his peers by being unable to take his punishment like a man. But somehow I doubt that that was a real issue. Sure, a caning hurt a lot. But it was part of the culture to take a deserved punishment stoically. Indeed I suspect any boy would be more likely to endure his strokes in silence if caned in public than he might in private.
So what am I missing? Why were the most severe corporal punishments usually administered in private?