Well, right off the bat, I would like to say your English is amazing, good job!

Okay, in regards to your first question, that grammar construct is used to talk about the first event in a series of events in the past. Another example could be, She was told to help her sister with her homework. Instead of using quotation marks, the speaker/writer simply says what was said using the indicative form. And of course, the past progressive and past tense are frequently interchangable in English, as are the present progressive and present tense, and you can tell this more just with practice and use. 

For your second question, while I can't be sure because I didn't hear it for myself, I would guess that they said "sue" and not "suit". Take them to the cleaners is an expression related to clean them out, as in take all their money. So, the person is saying if the washing machine doesn't do it's job well (removing stains), they will sue the manufactor, and get money for it. If I'm correct, it's definitely a pun and therefore, one of the harder things to understand in a second language. 

Excellent questions and I hope you continue to maintain such a drive in English! If you'd like to have some conversation practice, or reading and writing practice, we could have classes someday!

Is it important for children to be taught by teachers of both sexes ?

Education is a debate [that is] very important in our society. In fact, in the 20th century, there were more women who [whose implies possession] are teachers than men. But, nowadays, male teachers impose [maybe instead of impose, dominate] in the sector of the education. This difference is more common in primary school than other school [school age? other school implies a specific school, rather than an age group]. But, is it important for children to be taught by teachers of both sexes? Or, [new sentence, a question mark is like a period in that it says that the sentence has ended] the fact that women teachers are more numerous don’t [doesn't] pose any problem for [no the] children’s development? First, I will show the disadvantages of [no the, and female instead of women sounds better] women teachers. And, secondly, I will show the advantages of male teachers.

First of all, teachers of both sexes are necessary for children. Indeed, we can see that women teachers are [the] majority in the sector of the education. However, what can reproach in the education of women is that they [are] maternal [to] their student[s]. They aren’t really a model for children, but more a second mother. In fact, women teachers are less autoritative than men. For example, when a child do [does, third person singular] something wrong, they [are, going is present progressive and you still need the verb "to be"] going to look at understand the child but without punishing her/him necessarily. They highlight their maternal instinct and not their role of [a] teacher [role is the subject, so not all teachers, but the generic role of a teacher]. That is why, male teachers are less numerous, because they don’t have this problem of maternal instinct.

Then, even if male teacher are [the, minority is singular, so you put the in front] minority, we can see many advantages. In fact, the problem is situated in the families of students. At most time [Most of the time is a more natural way to express this idea], in a family, the mother takes care of their children, when the father is working, for instance. As a consequence, children need a male model and an example of authority in their life, especially for young boys. As a matter of fact, with the authority of the male teacher, children can understand that school is an authority place. Male teachers are not maternal. [Or, if you want to stick with singular, A male teacher is not maternal.]

All things considered, we can say that is very important for children to be taught by teacher of both sexes. In fact, children need a model of women and men in the sector of education for their development.

Nice job, those were some complicated thoughts and you expressed them well! Just a little tidying up of the grammar and vocabulary. If you want to learn more, we can have some classes together!

Improve my English

hi, I'm Elio and I believe [add myself here 'I believe myself to be', without it, it's a little grammaticaly vague as to whom you are referring] to be the typical italian guy (very weak with writing and speaking English). I downloaded the BBC radio app on my smartphone to listen and listen and listen in english [languages are always capitalized in English], and I'm trying myself [either I'm trying reading and listening books, as attempting to use books, or I'm testing myself, as in giving myself a challenge] reading and listening free audiobooks (librivox web site). Lately, i read [With 'lately', it sounds better to use the present perfect 'I have been reading'] the Aldous Huxley's Chrome Yellow.

Good job and keep at it! English is hard, but with practice you'll be fine :)

Santa Maria Novella, the façade

In 1456 the wealthy [wealth is the noun, wealthy is the adjective] merchant Giovanni Rucellai, ordered/commissioned to [to isn't necessary, he commisioned Leon] Leon Battista Alberti to redesign the façade of the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella. At the beginning of the work Alberti had to solve a big problem that was the integration of the existing tombs of famous florentine citizens and the gothic doors of the previous building.
He was able to overcome it transforming the lower part/zone with classical elements like the four coloumns and the two side pilasters. Then he enclosed the large central main door with an arch and separated the lower part of the facade from the upper part by means of a wide horizontal strip decorated with square inlay. On the top, [no the is necessary, on top] he created a structure/architecture that refers to a classical temple with these two spirals connecting the two different areas.
His skill was realizing a façade in which two different styles were put together and nevertheless they seem harmonious and balanced. Despite gothic elements it’s still considered a masterpiece, one of the biggest example of Renaissance architecture thanks to the use of a regular design, ordered by mathematical and geometrical rules.

Extremely well written and an interesting read!

St Patrick's Day

Hey everyone,
Today is my first entry in English in my notebook. It' [It's, but I think this was just a typo] also the first day of the rest of my life, but this is another story.
I was talking an hour ago with my conversation partner, Kevin from Canada, and I realized that I didn't know what Saint Patrick's Day [Day is capatalized because it's part of the whole proper noun, Saint Patrick's Day] was about. What's the matter with me?
So I googled it and opened the first answer: Wikipedia (in English of course :p ). Saint Patrick's Day is a cultural and christian celebration in Ireland. Ok, everyone knows it [that, instead of 'it' sounds better].
In fact, it commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and [it, clarify your subject] celebrates Irish's culture and heritage.
But on [the] wikipedia page, you can see that many countries celebrate this day (Japan, Switzerland,... and even [the] International Space Station!). I think for them it's just another way to get drunk and put [on, 'to put on' is the verb for wearing clothing] a green t-shirt they never wear the rest of the year!
Anyway, happy Saint Patrick Day to all Irish people on Italki (and beyond :p ).

Well written! Also, at least in the States, St. Patrick's Day got really big after we had a lot of Irish immigrants after the Great Potato Famine, and all the displaced Irish wanted to celebrate their heritage. Either way, Happy St. Patrick's Day to you too!

My opinion about a mall

The mall isn't attractive for clients. I think first of all this [you switch from 'the mall' generic, to 'this mall' specific, if you're going to change you have to clarify why]  mall is far away from the center and there aren't buses or trains to bring the people here [exclude 'here' unless you are talking at the mall] to the mall. Everybody needs a car to come the mall, and young people, like sixteen or seventeen years old, can’t drive. They need their parents for coming. [not 'for coming' but 'to come']

Besides the mall has a lot of shops closed [remember, in English, adjectives come before nouns, so like black pen and not pen black, so here 'closed shops' and not 'shops closed'] and the lighting is dim and sometimes the floor is dirty. The entrance isn’t adapted for people in wheel chair [people is plural, so wheelchairs, also, wheelchair is one word].

I think the mall needs a big change. It needs another shops, [another is for one more, maybe 'It needs more shops' instead] more restaurants, and a cinema to be attractive to the clients. I also think ['it needs' not just 'needs' because you changed the subject from 'I' to 'the mall' in the same sentence] needs a bus, which can bring people from the center. And with the clean of the mall [with the clean of the mall? I don't understand] I should [Should implies obligation, debo, I think you want to say, 'I would' put some plants to decorate the building.

Well written!

First off, well done, this is excellently written! I'll just go through and point out any small errors I see. 

How to beat traffic jams

Everyone has experienced traffic jams. They seem to be an incurable disease of modern cities. With billions of dollars invested in the road infrastructure, commute times continue to rise. Many people become frustrated by spending several hours a day in a slowly moving traffic jam. That situation is an inevitable result of the recent urban sprawl.

Various measures have been proposed to solve the transportation problems, but the majority of them had [here you switched from present perfect to past perfect, I would stay with present perfect, so 'have had', instead of just 'had'] little success. The most effective solutions is [are, solutions is plural] the most radical ones. To reduce traffic, we should either restrict the usage of land, or limit the usage of cars.

The whole situation, in which a city dweller has to drive a car on everyday basis, is regarded as abnormal by a few famous urbanists (Vukan Vuchic to be mentioned). They argue that a megalopolis should rely primary on a public transportation system, which can include buses, trams, LRT trains, and a subway. Nevertheless, proponents of “car-free cities” have failed to prove [the] efficiency of their concepts: while LRT (light rail transit) systems in European cities turned out to be a big improvement, we cannot say the same about but lines [I don't understand, the same about but lines?] . Thus, the cars are not going to disappear.

The most prominent solution for an excess usage of cars is reducing the actual need for transportation. That includes relocating offices from the city center to more distant areas, and using the Internet for new forms of employment, which do not require physical collocation of workers. If all stereotypes [this is an unusual use of the word stereotype. It might be appropriate, but clarify what you mean by stereotype then] were disposed, and everyone were able to work in the most convenient way, cities as we know them would disappear. We would live in small cities again. There would be no need for motor vehicles then...

(The photo is from my home city. That's what we have for several days per year, when the traffic lights is out of service)

Again, your writing is very good! Also, I'm very sorry about your traffic situation, I thought it was bad in the Bay Area!

Have you ever seen cherry blossom???

Hi there!!

These days, it's [since it's is not a name, nor the beginning of the sentence, it stays lower cased] getting warmer in Japan.

Spring is just around the corner.

When spring comes, we can see many cherry blossoms.

It's awesome!!!!!!

Have you ever seen cherry blossoms???!!

[And to answer your question, yes, I have, we have cherry blossom trees on my street, and they're very lovely!]