Oddly Conntected

I found these two posts via Twitter this morning and thought, "Wow, these two are oddly connected.  I'm glad they came on the same morning so I could make the connection."

Here's the first one: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

Here's the second one: Be Like the Bamboo: 7 Lessons from the Japanese Forest

So, how are they connected?

[I was going to post my ideas.  However, let's try to get a conversation started in the comments.]