via Negrophile:

Black Professors: On the Track but Out of the Loop By FRED A. BONNER II

When I was in my first year as a tenure-track faculty member, a friend of mine summed up a concern that many of us newly minted African-American professors had. She said: "I am not so sure that I am willing to become the person I must become in order to gain tenure." Her remark drew a round of "uh-huhs" and "I know what you means" from the audience.

…Five themes were almost universal.

And I need to speak to this one:

Providing the entertainment. At the beginning of one semester, a student dropped by my office to ask what textbooks and supplementary materials she needed to purchase for my course. After I answered her questions, she said, "I am very excited about taking this course with you -- I hear that you are a very good teacher. But I expect you to make this fun!"

I'd have told the child on the spot she's out of her god damn mind. Unless she really likes pure knowledge. Little pissant need to go to clown school. Set her right up to work with the Neocons.

I had listened to my nonminority colleagues in nearby offices as they engaged in similar conversations with students. Their discussions centered on issues of academic expectations and rigor. Not once had I heard their students talk about the enjoyability of courses. It was as if they could satisfy students by providing knowledge, while for me the bar was raised. Not only was I to convey academic content, but I also had to entertain students.

One of my colleagues echoed my feeling: "I don't have the luxury of coming to class with just a book and a smile, like some of my nonminority colleagues. I have to 'flash and dash' them with media and PowerPoint, lest they view me as lazy and incompetent." Another said ruefully, "It would be nice to sit back and just enjoy teaching without all of the extra pressures of trying to be an entertainer, but I guess this is not my lot."

Good thing I'm not up for tenure. I'd never make it.