A SOUTHERN FRIED EDUCATION traces the education of a Southern man from the first grade through both graduate school and law school. The road is somewhat treacherous, but in traveling it, author Mark Hickson III envisions several principles that will help others avoid making the same mistakes he made-mistakes involving the system of spankings in the 1950s, science laboratory courses in high school and college, thesis writing, and arguing with law professors. Some of the principles Hickson has learned include the following: Never embarrass a teacher in class. Never post grades near your office. Teachers and students can be friends. Don't tutor colleagues in graduate school. A good teacher never destroys a student's dreams. The most important thing to know is when to say nothing. More important than the principles in each story is the way in which every small trail leads to a new discovery-a new principle-about school and life. Whether it's teaching someone to be careful about promises or realizing that relationships are more valuable than the content of a course, the short stories in A SOUTHERN FRIED EDUCATION display a wealth of wisdom about life, culture, and those things that can only be learned through time.