Support or Another Hoop?

BTSA stands for Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment. Sounds great doesn't it. Only problem is, it is doing the opposite of what it set out to accomplish. The intention was good and the coordinators do their best to help out participating teachers. The problem is that the program has gotten so out of control, that many new teachers are thinking of quitting. The confusion of requirements and demand of paperwork and other meaningless tasks created the need for a supporting website. The website is called BTSAsupport.com. Hmm, support for support, sort of defeats the purpose don't you think? The problem is that new teachers have to provide paper evidence for everything they do during their day just to prove that they are in fact professionals because apparently the two degrees and excellent test scores don't quite satisfy the government. Teachers are required to print out emails and store them in a binder to prove of course that they use email (I'm sorry, but who doesn't???). We have to print out grade summaries to show that we are using grade software (even though most districts already require teachers to do so). We have to fill in monthly logs to prove that we are meeting with our mentor teachers (because of course new teachers have so much free time). The list of the ridiculous requirements goes on, but I'll spare you the details. I'm interested in hearing any thoughts or comments you might have. Feel free to respond.