Yes, and I shall explain why. While I was never hurt by a teacher, if I misbehaved Mom or Dad would come to school and spank me, and I learned my lesson much quicker from that. Many kids are so absent-minded, they don't understand verbal scolding or passive aggressiveness.
Kids today know that a teacher, despite all their threats and pleas, can not MAKE them do anything. It is up to the parent to punish the kids. And often parents could care less that little Timmy is misbehaving in school, so they don't do anything about it. Often, the parents could actually care less about little Timmy in general.
The teachers need a way to prompt kids to behave, as most kids don't have the legal choice to drop out until high school. The only punishment that you are guaranteed of the kids learning from is physical pain. Kids may actually enjoy staying inside at recess, or cleaning up trash with the cool janitor. Physical pain is the only thing kids will always dislike. And if they are threatened with that, they'll most likely stop being idiots.
However, if the kid must be punished, it should only be as a last resort. It should be something simple, like a slap on the hand with a ruler, that would not cause pain for more than an instant. It should not be a slap on the bottom, because a smart kid would cry sexual harassment. It should be done only by the principal, and should be documented and witnessed to avoid abuse. If something like that does not work, the kid has deeper issues.