how does one become a teacher?

Ready for a bad science joke?: The evolution of my posts is clearly a punctuated equilibrium.
"instead of a slow, continuous movement, evolution tends to be characterized by long periods of virtual standstill ("equilibrium"), "punctuated" by episodes of very fast development of new forms." Now for the post:

I love teaching. However, I am finding many hoops that need to be jumped through in order to become a licensed and legal teacher in the United States. For me, graduating from a 4-year college was a hoop dream for so long, and now, to pursue a Master's Degree seems an equally daunting task. About a year after the State of Minnesota gave approval for alternative teaching licensure programs, not a single institution has initiated a program. Government subsidies for graduate loans are being cut, but a master's degree is increasingly becoming the gold standard for obtaining a job.

I wonder, with a Master's Degree and experience in St. Paul schools with AmeriCorps and my TEFL experience in Japan, if I would be a competitive candidate. If I pursue graduate education, I would like to get a Master's in Elementary Education. My dream is to teach at a private school, charter school, or Montessori school with the hope that I will not be paralyzed by standards, testing, and bureaucracy.  Working with children so enriches my life, and with my love of the outdoors, working at an nature-based elementary charter school would be the ideal.

The fact is, I know many certified teachers who have been out of work. I have heard that the market for elementary teachers is completely over-saturated. My hypothesis is that the biological clocks of many females are ticking, while the average age of marriage and having children goes up. Women turn to Elementary Education as a professional calling, but what is really calling them is their maternal desires. 

While my dream is to teach at a private or charter school, I had many wonderful and inspiring teachers throughout my public education, and I would be overjoyed to find any job, public schools included. I believe in a high quality of public education, and if I ever become a public school teacher, I will fight for that, but now, the government is surely not doing its part to attract high quality public school teachers. 

There seem to be many more barriers and deterrents when it comes to finding a job in a public school. I am concerned about  becoming licensed in one state and wanting to live or finding a job in another. It seems that transferring licenses can be a difficult process, as each state has different licensing standards. It is surprising that the US doesn't have a nationwide license or more cooperation between states. While licensing is one barrier, I can think of a few more, like No Child Left Behind and the constant pressure for students to achieve high tests scores regardless of circumstances and with the teacher's position on the line.  

Supposedly, some school districts will offer on-the-job training while licensure is pursued. I don't know where those are, but it sounds awesome. Teach for America is an option, but having served two years already with AmeriCorps, the education award would be rendered moot.

I will ruminate on this topic for a bit longer. Maybe, instead of trying to become a legit teacher, I could pursue environmental education programs at nature centers. I hope to find some way to couple my love for the outdoors and my love for education, because, Confucius once say, "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life." Finding a job that just pays the bills is an option, and following MLK's advice, if it falls to my lot to be a street sweeper, I would, "sweep streets like Michelangelo." But I believe that with vision and effort, I can shape the progression of my future.