Where to begin... I see nothing wrong with an occasional spanking when other forms of punishment don't work. If you give your kid a time out every day for doing the same thing- it should occur to you that time-outs aren't working. I was a kid not so long ago, I was good at the "go to my room and behave until they chill out" mode of thinking being sent to my room was not a punishment, it just made me try harder to not get caught next time. On the other hand, when I'd get taken over my dad's knee, I'd KNOW that I had better quit whatever I was doing.
I will certainly try other forms of punishment with my little boy, but if a behavior continues, he'll be taken over my knee just like I was when I was a kid. I turned out just fine. I have more maturity in my little finger than a lot of people my age and I think that that is in part to my parents keeping me from becoming a little monster.
This woman needs to crack down on her little 6 year old and find something that works! In the meantime, I'm sure that she'll put him into a public school where he'll fit in just fine with all of the other little hooligans: