What do I say to God?

My sins are endless.

My repentance is endless.

I’m afraid I’m faceless.

What do I say to God?

Heedless, so that I may not remain

I am a simple slave, a servant.

Ask questions every day.

What do I say to God?

I’m awake, shaking.

I ask myself, how are you?

What if I leave without repenting? Wow

What do I say to God?

Go and see the grave.

Don’t return without repentance then.

Then don’t be in the dream.

What do we say to God?

Insolence

The morning begins with a remonstrance against tapers,  

which I am likely to kindle

in the event of imminent misfortune 

habitually induced by her well-executed schemes.  

I ignore all that demeans:

her lips become agitated with narratives 

of the ills of the present 

and all that is deceased!

The afternoon heats up with the lava of her eruptive moods,

which have nothing to do with the weather 

or her blood pressure, 

besides she is long past the menopause.

No siesta is possible in such an infernal abode.

I simmer over slow-burning coal

and bite my tongue before it protrudes.

The evening always puts the final touches to a day of gall.

She harvests her crops with a single panoramic look

at my eclipsed moon,

at my ill-zipped lips,

struggling to block the release of a few words,

which eventually find their way out per force.

With damn your insolence, the night is concluded.

The Moon

The moon is neither a goddess,

nor a harbinger of doom 

when heralded by the howls of wolves.

It plays no role in the malevolent rites

of Dracula’s resurrection lore.

It is not the necromancer who inflicts lunacy

or changes the substance of nocturnal thoughts. 

It is simply a marvelous piece of masonry,

a celestial, megalithic stone,

chiseled by the Architect of the World.

Departed

Departed is the fellowship of swallows from our skies,

the stately clouds that cling to its own trails like excited brides,

the allure of the sea that entices swimmers who are without

apprehension about any lurking sharks.

Fishermen report hearing strange noises

that make them collect their nets with fear-driven speed,

and People living on the coast 

dread at most 

a hurricane’s holocaust.

It sounds like the end of days,

but I do not believe it is.

Have you ever contemplated wrestling with a demon? 

Have you ever contemplated wrestling with a demon,

in a combat that flexes the muscles of your brain?

They reiterate that it is not a being

with a couple of horns 

and a hideous mien.

In a battle of intellects,

demons are adept in the lingual spheres, 

so one can have recourse to literary language

since they need not consult any dictionaries!

On Thomas Malory’s Morte d’arthur

Why does he have to be the fruit of lust,

of a ploy that involves the shedding of blood,

conceived by Merlin, 

the dream-reader with a high expertise in the occult?

For some this amounts to defamation of character

in the modern sense of the word,

since they believe no chivalry is begotten 

from evil deception or sexual misconduct.

A true king cannot be weaned by a thought-reading

and shape-shifting wizard!

The Misanthrope

What is it going to make a difference to him if a drop falls from the sky or gallons? He has opened himself to the world, lying there under the canopy of the shop. He cares nothing about the world. It is all one and the same to him if streams flow around him or if he is deserted on an island floating amid all the flood. The question is whether this or that would make a difference to him. I saw a woman pass by, feeling sorry for him. She was out taking her dog for a stroll, she looked at him and she shook her head. She felt sorry for him and out came from her little purse a coin of €1? Is she better off or I am? Is it not a crime giving little to someone when giving much more could have made a vital difference? I am fundamentally indifferent, his life or not is one and the same thing to me, I avow my nonchalance. Is the matter with us that I think I am philosophically right? When a woman can give, and when she feels sorry for him, it is criminal to give only €1 which can make no difference to this man lying under a shopfront on a wet wintry night. If she feels sorry

for him, she must go all the way to assuage him, otherwise she is morally wrong. If she gives him a little alms, and is of on her way shaking her head and feeling sorry still glowing in pleasure almost from the volupté of hitting a child whom you wanted to correct. The fact of the matter is I could have given €1 but I did not, the woman could have given it and she did, I could have even given €10 had I wanted to, the woman could have given €10 as well, with some effort I could have gone on to €100, it would not have killed me, the way we were and the locality we live in, I do not think it would be any trouble to the Madame as well, then come to it, thinking very very hard about it and selling a few things, I would have been on to €1000, the Madame would not need to sell anything and she could give him the money and probably forget it in a few days, come to €10,000 there I would have to pawn myself, or think of an ingenious means, while the Madame she finally might need to sell something or break a deposit…beyond this we do not think. The point is clear: the Madame is guilty in giving him €1 when €1000 would have been no trouble to her, for me I am philosophically right, because his condition is of no interest to me, great curiosity perhaps, and I would like to see him do well for himself and bag more (and grander) aumônes from passersby, but there I repeat my point, philosophically I am in the right, I who had no rôle to play in the drama where as the Madame comes across as a self-aggrandising brat who needs to give to feel herself, whose only point of charity is not to be lost in the maze of accusations and critique she might feel herself downcast under.

The rain is oblivious, and I am oblivious, and that is the way of the world and there is nothing in it guilty or absolved. Darkness is oblivious too, in the tunnel as the rails hiss and the tiles clobber and two young girls call up to me their bottles of rosé wine in the hands. “Hey you your hair shines like my party dress, when I dress-up.” “See I did not use any cream, unlike you, it is just the rain.” “What are you saying?” “I said I do not need any substances, the rain is bad.” “Come join us, you seem to have nothing at hand.” “I’m not sure I want to spend my date with brats like you.” “Come join us, you fool. See two girls are calling you with their music, we even have wine for you.” We passed the whole night together. For five hours, I kept drinking with the girls with music

playing on their stereo and they kept asking me questions, one after the other. In the middle of the two of them, I would have been an elder brother, or probably a maître who shares the two. From time to time they played with my hair, somehow my dark hair had taken their fancy. I kept chiding them saying all the glues and glitters they use for the hair, while my hair was all natural, all good rain and old sun. They kept pinching me around the shoulders. Many times our legs brushed, I mean my knuckles brushed against their calves. That is when I proposed we go back to my house. I have a comfortable bed and I said one of the two of you at least can sleep on the canapé (that was just to elicit jealousy out of them). The girls agreed readily, and they kept on playing music and swerving as if we were a group of Bacchantes out on the parade. The only thing missing was ivy wreaths and staffs in our hands. Way into the night we walked, the rain having subsided a little bit though the streets still wet. It is then I realised how much we had drunk. They had three bottles at least, in the beginning, plus one huge bottle of rum that I got from my money and that I allowed one of the girls to go because I did not want to let go of the other (one of the two, at any rate). Finally we got another bottle of Get 27, and kept mixing it with soda. The girls were holding well, except now and then bumping into the shop fronts. It is then under the canopy of the chocolate shop, that I almost missed the beggar lying wide astride with his hands flying in every direction and his mouth opened up to the skies, one corner in which I saw a cheap €1 bottle of white wine. It is then I thought to myself the girls sure smell better than him.

Arjun Razdan was first published at the age of 20 (a poem called ‘Transformation’ in The Asian Age, New Delhi) for which he has still not received the montant of ₹2126 (minus taxes) due to him. Based mostly in Europe, especially France, this Kashmiri writer has been published in many countries including India, Pakistan, the United States, and Portugal, besides his home country. In collaboration with his friend and mentor, Farzdan, he has also written a food mémoire (L’Aau à la Zouche), a book of dialogues (Lettres à Mon Elève) and a long travelogue in the wild (An Everlasting Night).

 Role of time management and habit formation in education

 UzSWLU, foreign language and literature 1st faculty

Shukurilloyeva Lazzatoy Shamshodovna

Annotation: This scientific article presents information about ways of habit formation, time management,  punctuality and their role in education.

 Key words: speed age, time management, taylorism, polymath

        Living in the speed age is requiring us to manage our time more smartly than ever before.   Otherwise, we will end up getting chased by clocks. Unfortunately, many people in our distracting world are failing to shape that habit of punctuality.” Lost time is never found again” – says Benjamin Franklin—American polymath. Our future depends on what we do now. If we want it to be bright, starting from now we have to appreciate it and manage properly. As the lost time cannot be found we have to make use of that when we have.  The history of planning time goes back to very ancient times, over 1,500 years ago, human beings discovered many ways of managing time. It was the monks who used planning and strict schedules to boost productivity. Frederick Winslow is the person who has used the term “time management ” and considered to be the father of this field. His motto was: “Work smarter, not harder”. Thanks to his book “Principles of time management in 1911”, written with the association of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth people started thinking about the ways of doing things quickly and more productively. Taylor’s ideas are popular as Taylorism, and they are a crucial part of business administration.

      The world has seen many of such professionals since then. One of them is James Clear, who showed the importance of habit shaping in time management with obvious examples in his book, called “Atomic Habits”. He says that, habits ended by satisfying results are highly likely to be repeated over and over again. Vice versa goes with the ones started by unsatisfying results. James Clear states that, every human behavior experiences this process:

Try ➡ fail ➡ learn ➡ Try differently

Which means, when you try to do something or build a useful habit you might encounter failure at the start. Then you learn the effective and proven ways of doing that, which makes you try again but differently. Ultimately, you find a way to be an achiever, not a loser. You have to do, try, rest, do again, learn, do, but should never stop along the way. Moreover, you have to make it enjoyable and engaging for yourself so you keep up with the habit.

There are a lot of ways to do to be labeled as a productive person. You are supposed to manage not only time, but energy too. It works like a paradox as you manage your energy, you will get your time managed too. Imagine, you finished 20 projects in the morning within five hours, would you go for an 80 minute lecture at the university? “No” without a doubt, you are already run out of your energy. So you cannot have other tasks done in the next following hours of the day.

James Clear strongly states that consistency is a key to achieving any success at any age. So you are supposed to be disciplined first before being productive. If you want to change yourself, you cannot do that gradually but over time with practice and patience. However, the writer recommends changing the atmosphere you have, first. It’s really important when you want to be another, best version of yourself. It is, actually, scientifically proven that habits can easily be changed when you are in a new environment. It makes it easy to escape from the subtle triggers that motivate you to do your current habits again and again. It is very difficult to read books on the same couch where you are prone to surf the internet, or to choose healthy food when at the cafe where you eat only junk food. In such cases, new environments can help greatly to form a good habit without interruption.

The same goes for the study habits you want to build: completing assignments before deadlines, constant engagement when learning a new language, being on time for classes. All of these goals need a new environment to become your habit. If you want to be productive academically but always see yourself struggling to get up early because of staying up late it will be hard to be referred to as “early bird”. Proof of this point is made by— David Allen, whose version of the Two-Minute Rule states, “If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.” This rule helps us to start, whatever the situation is, because our mind knows that we will be able to finish that process within 2 minutes only, then it can do whatever wants. In two minutes as you finish you get very happy because you finished one project successfully. That thing creates dopamine in your brain and pushes you to do another thing in this kind of quick way.

Waking up earlier in the morning, which is quite hard to do easily is a very great opportunity to use this method. When your clock alarms, you have to say yourself: if I cannot stop being sleepy even after washing my face I will sleep. This method makes our brain to be fooled, as you wash your face, you realize you could wake early as you wanted. It is highly unlikely that you sleep again after such a big achievement of the day. And James Clear’s “1% percent better” strategy can also be helpful in this case.

If you want to be perfect, you will not be able to reach that level overnight, but with consistency and practice, he says. If you want to be a morning person you cannot be an early bird the day after you want to be, but you have to start with small steps like getting up 30 minutes earlier than you usually wake. Then with 1% change within 1 week, or 1 month, you will get a lasting habit. If the vice versa goes with you, however, you’ll get 1% worse each day. This technique not only helps you to get up early but also to start your day with a fresh and amazing mood that will come in handy both in academic and social spheres.

     In management of time one of the most effective way is using “To-do lists”, as your mind feels itself organized. Once you finish doing things one by one you will put check marks next to them which makes you have a sense of accomplishment and makes you finish all the tasks on time. You can do that either in the traditional way (with pen and notebook) or with e-version of notebooks which are available in every smartphone, nowadays. This method not only helps you cope with all of the things you have to do throughout the day but also to balance your academic and social lives. As a student or employee, you might not spend a bunch of time with family members, who are a great source of stress relief.

Katherine Lee, an American poet, once said: “Quality family time is important for strengthening family bonds, improving self-esteem, creating happy memories, and reducing stress”. Balancing our day properly helps to have happiness, there will be no need to wait for some specific day to be happy but each minute will be significantly filled with joy and happiness once we start following this rule.

      Energy management is very crucial when productivity is concerned, which ultimately leads to solid success that lasts forever. Plus, it is a double-edged sword that works both positively and negatively. That is to say, if you allocate your fresh and full energy period to something that is beneficial to your overall health and life that makes you to be motivated. Unfortunately, if you spend them consciously or unconsciously in a bad way like, surfing the net, chatting with friends and such kind of bad habits that work against yourself, you will end up having a distracted lifestyle. All of these depend on you, you chose to be successful or failure in the end. Both of them contribute to your overall motivation of life.

      Time management, habits, punctuality, balancing day are all interconnected to each other. Once you possess strong habit of punctuality you can easily follow time management and  can successfully balance your day. To start building all of these habits one should change current environment and never stop trying. Balancing academic life and family times are really important factors to achieve success of any kind.

REFERENCES

1) “The history of time management” https://www.taylorintime.com/history-of-time-management/#:~:text=The%20History%20of%20Time%20Management%20Dates%20Back%20to%20the%20Late%201800s&text=But%20it%20wasn’t%20until,the%20father%20of%20scientific%20management.

2) “Atomic Habits” James Clear 2018

3)   “Two minute structures” https://jamesclear.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating#:~:text=Read%20more%20here.,York%3A%20Penguin%2C%202015

4) “Importance of family time” https://www.jstor.org/stable/25684496

Six Postwoman Poems

Today the post

woman brought

me a trans-

Atlantic passenger

liner. I tried to

sail it in the lagoon

at the bottom of the

street but when I got

it in there it wouldn’t

budge, something to

do with Newton’s

unpublished fourth

law of motion which,

in précis, posits big

fish / big pool. I’ve

decided to leave the

liner where it is,

open it up as

an hotel. The

pelicans are pissed.

*

Today the post-

woman brought

me a conniption

fit. So-called be-

cause it makes  

you angry when you  

put the jacket on 

& it’s too tight 

across the shoulders.

*

Today the post-

woman brought

me a pasta

maker. My 

heart gave out — 

I’d asked for

a pacemaker.

*

Today the post-

woman brought

me a brochure

from EARWAX—

extinct animal 

resurrection with 

academic expertise—

suggesting that if 

I donated both

money & a sample 

of my DNA they 

might be able 

to bring back 

the Amazonian 

smilodon. I de-

clined. Now if it 

had have been 

the mastodon. . .

*

Today the post-

woman brought

me the latest 

issue of Conspiracy 

Theory Quarterly 

in its plain alfoil 

wrapper. I waved 

to the spy satellite 

as I carried it in.

*

Today the post-

woman brought

me an invitation

to nominate 

my favorite 

Impressionist

painting. What to

pick? I’ve been

weighing up the

crows & ponds.

Teaching English with Innovative Methods  

                     Olimova Shahina Botirjon qizi  

          Student of Uzbekistan State World Language University

Abstract: As globalization is changing rapidly, knowing and understanding English has become more important and necessary than in past decades. English is a powerful communication bridge that connects people in various fields, such as business, science, and education, across nations. Therefore, the demand for English proficiency is high, and creative teaching methods could be a good solution to meet this request. This article analyzes innovative approaches to teaching English and explores useful methods for improving the quality of knowledge among students.

Keywords: innovative ideas, creative methods, CREAM strategy, knowledge acquisition, student engagement.

Introduction: Today, people are struggling with learning English and finding qualified teachers. That is why creating an attractive study environment and teaching students with innovative methods is crucial. Traditionally, teaching methods can seem boring to students, and it is not effective to enhance language skills. Through creative activities and innovative approaches, teachers can capture a student’s attention and make the lesson more engaging. Finding interactive methods can be challenging, but they can be achieved by the following strategies:

Materials and Methods:

                                         Word Games

Students studying English as a second language often face challenges with learning new vocabulary. They struggle to remember vocabulary for long periods and use it effectively in writing and speaking. A solution to this problem could be word games. In this activity, teachers write new vocabulary on online flashcards with numbers. Then, students select a number and provide the definition of the word associated with that number. This method not only helps students learn new vocabulary but also improves their communication skills, which are essential in language learning.

                                       Imposing Stories

Using stories in the educational process, especially for teaching foreign languages, makes lessons more captivating. Stories help students imagine real events and the characters’ situations. Simply asking questions based on the passages is not always effective, because students may focus on finding answers rather than engaging with the story itself. Instead, teachers can assign tasks where students must prepare a role-play in a chapter they like. This approach helps increase student engagement. Additionally, students will better understand the meaning of the story as they immerse themselves in the characters’ perspectives. While preparing for the role-play, students will collaborate with their peers, which helps develop teamwork skills. This strategy also aids teachers in maintaining students’ interest and making lessons more dynamic.

                                         CREAM Strategy

 The CREAM strategy is a combination of five key concepts: Creative, Reflective, Effective, Active, and Motivational. Each word carries its own meaning:

C-Creative: Teachers need to encourage students to use critical thinking and give tasks that develop problem-solving skills. This strategy can help students to nurture innovative ideas.  

R-Reflective: Teachers should teach students how to analyze their own performance and find mistakes. It can help students to identify strengths and weaknesses and take valuable lessons from them.

E-Effective: In this approach, students learn to organize time, learn about the environment, and use digital technology. It allows students to save time and energy and focus on studying.

A-Active: Being active is a key element in the educational process. Teachers should encourage students to engage actively in lessons and explore further information related to the subject they are learning.

M-Motivational: Motivation is a powerful factor that impacts a student’s academic success. Teachers should reward students for their achievements and motivate them to achieve their goals. This helps students stay motivated and pursue their dreams.

Results and Discussions

This research was conducted over one month with students in a school setting. Teachers selected two classes for observation and research. The first group used traditional teaching methods, while the second group used the CREAM strategy. Before the intervention, only 5 percent (2 students) of the second group scored 5 on their English exams. However, after applying the CREAM strategy, the number of students who achieved higher scores increased to 50 percent (20 students). The first group, taught with traditional methods, showed no improvement in student performance.

Conclusion

Since English is the official language in many countries, the demand for teaching this language is high. Many teachers use various methods, including word games, storytelling, video presentations, the CREAM strategy, and other innovative approaches. These methods help achieve educational goals and improve the quality of teaching. Through creative teaching methods, students can expand their vocabulary and develop their comprehension skills. Furthermore, these methods encourage students to be more creative and engaged in lessons. Therefore, using innovative teaching strategies is crucial, as it contributes to enhancing the quality of education.

References:

1. Kumar, S., Kumar, R., Sankar, G. (2016). Creative thinking in English language teaching for secondary language learners. *International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture*.

2. Anburaj, G., Christopher, G., Ming, N. (2014). Innovative methods of teaching the English language. *Journal of Humanities and Social Science*.

3. Kalyani, D., Rajasekaran, K. (2018). Innovative teaching and learning. *Journal of Applied and Advanced Research*.

O’tkir Mulikboyev	Tue, Dec 24, 10:19 PM (3 days ago)
to me

The Magic of Chemistry

In the beautiful city of Samarkand, there was a highly qualified teacher named Jasur at School No. 81. From a young age, he had been passionate about chemistry, and through his diligence and aspirations, he had become a teacher who dedicated himself to sharing his favorite subject with his students. His classes were different from ordinary lessons. Jasur referred to chemistry as magic and taught his students to look at it from this perspective.

“Today, we will create magic together,” Jasur announced one day as he entered the classroom. The students’ eyes widened in surprise. Jasur showcased his small, yet well-equipped table. On it were various flasks, test tubes, chemical substances, and several intriguing devices.

“I’m going to share a secret with you,” Jasur continued, “Chemistry is real magic. We combine different substances and create new and extraordinary things. We change colors, release gases, and even make it rain artificially.”

The students were left in awe. Jasur demonstrated the first experiment. He mixed several colored solutions and observed how their colors changed. Then he combined a few substances to create a foamy and colorful liquid. The students’ exclamations filled the classroom.

“This is not magic; this is chemistry,” Jasur explained. “We just need to understand the properties of the substances and combine them correctly. If we follow the laws of chemistry, we can create any magic!”

Jasur’s classes were interesting and exciting. He allowed the students to conduct various experiments, teaching them how to work with chemical substances, while also helping them make their own discoveries.

One day, Jasur proposed an experiment called “Magical Crystals.” They dissolved different salts in water and then cooled them slowly to create beautiful crystals. The students’ eyes shone with wonder and curiosity. They were thrilled to see the crystals they had created.

Jasur’s classes made chemistry more engaging and understandable for his students. They began to view chemistry not just as a subject, but as an exciting and extraordinary world. Jasur inspired his students with his chemical magic and helped them enhance their knowledge.

Jasur Mulikboyev, Son of Qochqor

Chemistry Teacher, School No. 81, Samarkand City