Hi Spazz,
You say that you are mostly helping students in calculus and linear algebra. Those are both several levels above the basic 100 level college math course that is the min. req. for a degree. Maybe you have just never met anyone like my friend, Sandy.
I met Sandy years ago when I was trying to pursue a degree in a B&M. She was a single mom with an all too typical story who just could not get above the poverty level no matter how hard she worked. So she decided to return to school. Sandy tested out so low on math that she was placed in Math095. She would have to pass this and then move to Math096 before being able to take Math 101 which was the basic req. class. Without 101 she would not be able to get a degree and graduate.
Sandy had a horrible time and asked me to tutor her. We met at least once a week even after I had to withdraw. Sandy failed 095 and repeated it. She failed 096 and repeated it. She failed 101 and repeated it. Two years of struggle and expense that she couldn't really afford.
During this time, I learned that Sandy spent at least an hour every workday and over half of her weekend study time on her math homework. I also learned that a problem that might take me a minute or two could be 15 minutes to a half an hour of work for Sandy. So her notebook may not have had as many solved problems simply due to the tremendous amount of time it took her.
There are formulas that are pretty much fill in the blank for someone who has some math aptitude. But there are a lot of formulas! I noticed that Sandy would get one memorized but then be very unsure of how to apply it. Or would mix two or more formulas up. Or be unable to recognize that two problems were actually the same pattern. And so on.
Sandy was an A & B student in everything else. English, Literature, History, Philosophy, etc. She truly almost despaired of ever becoming a college graduate just because of this one subject. And even though she was succeeding so well in all the other areas her confidence in her own abilities and intelligence took a serious beating.
You can only imagine how thrilled her family and I were when this ordeal was past! I can guarentee you that Sandy would never have even signed up for the next level of math. She would probably rather be drug behind a moving vehicle for 20 feet and then have it back up over her.
Sandy definately didn't struggle with math because of either a lack of intelligence or laziness. Some people just seem to stuggle with math in varying degrees much more than some others. Seems to me we are just all wired different.
If you have a chance, you might check out some of the students who come in who are struggling with the basic classes. I would be willing to wager that some of them are spending a bunch of time trying to get it figured out. You are in a great position to be a real blessing to people. I know that Sandy utilized the math lab tutoring as well as meeting with me and she was Extremely Grateful for all the help they gave her!
Librevore