Being Screwed Vs. Being Productive

After being backed into a proverbial corner by most everyone I've discussed my "why can't I find a job?" woes with, I've decided going back to college for my teacher certification. Many people suggested I go back for my MA, others suggested I give up altogether (nice), so this is my method of meeting them halfway. I'm still not 100% on the idea; I need to figure out if teaching high school Literature/English is something I actually want to do, rather than something I think I'd be "reasonably fair" at.

Bad Idea	Good Idea
Getting the certification because I’m already like, 80% done with it.	Getting the certification because I’m already like, 80% done with it.
Teaching high school because everyone else has convinced me I will never find a job in publishing/editing with a BA degree, ever ever ever.	Teaching high school because above everything else, I love to read, write, analyze literature, and explore everything in between.
Spending another few thousand dollars on a certification I’m not entirely sure I want.	Spending money on a certification that will look good on any resume.
Spending the new few months (years?) of my life struggling with freelance work and hoping to find an administrative assistant job for $10/hr at a tiny office.	Working toward a positive goal of a secure (somewhat secure, at least) job with good benefits and OK pay.

As a child I wanted to teach so badly. It was my dream. I loved school. The top 5 reasons I wanted to teach as a child were:

a) the way new notebooks smelled
b) you got to hand out stickers that smelled like food
c) you got to yell at people, and they needed to listen
d) you got to read as many books as you could ever possibly want
e) you helped people understand things

I figure that c) and e) still sort of apply.

The reasons I'm wary of teaching now are things I never considered as a young'un:

a) the sordid apathy of everyone ages 13-20+
b) the complete lack of respect parents consistently fail to teach their children
c) how nowadays, whether or not the kids LEARN is important

I wish it had been so tough when I was younger. I think as long as we made it through a school year without getting a case of head lice and a broken bone we were good?

This Friday I'm meeting with some of Matt's coworkers who have taught high school English, in hopes of finding a direction to lean further in.