My mother once told a story about some friend of hers. According to her friend, back in the day a child would get corporal punishment even for not learning his homework on time, for not getting the right answer. It was either that or getting sent to his room without food for hours until he/she learned his times tables correctly.
Honestly, that got me so puzzled. I can't ever understand how is someone even going to learn by getting hit or getting depraved of food. That's so abusive and outrageous. Those folks shouldn't have ever been parents. Isn't learning suppose to be motivating and an enjoyable activity? I fail to understand how is a child struggling with a school course going to magically become successful if you do that? If they're slow learners, shouldn't someone find the roots of what's causing the problem, why they aren't learning, get a tutor, etc.